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ARTICLE · 21 NOVEMBER 2019

Equal Pay: The Battle Continues

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Last year we wrote about an equal pay claim brought by a former HR Director of the Co-op Bank and some of the issues faced by women in bringing equal pay claims.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Libby Payne
Libby Payne
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Last year we wrote about an equal pay claim brought by a former HR Director of the Co-op Bank and some of the issues faced by women in bringing equal pay claims. Whilst the HR Director in that case was successful, today on Equal Pay Day we reflect on yet another high profile equal pay claim and what, if anything, has changed in the last year.

Samira Ahmed's claim against the BBC ended last week. At the heart of her claim was an allegation that she was paid £440 per episode of Newswatch, compared to the £3,000 paid to Jeremy Vine for each episode of Points of View. Even though Ms Ahmed argued that the preparation time and involvement in her show is greater than that of her male colleague in his, the BBC countered with arguments that the different genres of the two shows and the profile of the presenters justified a different level of pay. With judgment reserved we will have to wait to see which argument prevails but this demonstrates again how difficult it can be

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