If the case is successful, won’t I benefit financially anyway?
IF YOU DO NOT JOIN THE CLAIM THE TRIBUNAL CANNOT ORDER THAT YOUR EMPLOYER PAY YOU ANY FINANCIAL COMPENSATION.
A successful claim = up to 6 years back pay from the date we start your claim AND back pay from the date we start until the claim is resolved.
So, what might you receive?
The below examples assume a £2 difference between you and your male comparators’ hourly rates of pay.
Full time store worker 35 hours* per week
35 hrs pw x 6 yrs**= £21,840
AND
35 hrs pw x 5 yrs***= £18,200
Total = £40,040
Part-time store worker working 25 hours* per week
25 hrs pw x 6 yrs** = £15,600
AND
25 hrs pw x 5 yrs*** =£13,000
Total = £28,600
At the end of the case your contract would be rewritten to ensure that your pay is not less favourable than your male comparator
For those that don’t join the claim they would get £ZERO in compensation.
*Hours are dependent on actual hours worked.
**Actual length of service at date of starting claim
***Actual length of time it takes to complete claim
Will my manager know if I bring a claim?
Head Office and their lawyers will know but it’s unlikely that anyone at your store will.
Can they sack me if I bring a claim?
IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL FOR YOU TO BE SACKED
When you bring a claim, you are automatically protected by law from any act of retaliation from your employer.
To make it easier to understand ‘victimisation’ we’ve created a helpful video to explain how you are protected by the law.
If we lose the claim, will I have to pay legal fees?
No
In respect of Leigh Day’s legal fees, we work under a no-win-no-fee agreement. This means that if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay any legal fees to us unless you breach the terms of your agreement with us.
Nor are you at risk of paying anything towards your employer’s legal fees. The rare exception to this is if you personally behave in a vexatious, abusive, disruptive or otherwise unreasonable manner.
If you have any concerns about legal fees, please visit our contact us and give us a call to discuss them with a team member.
Can men also make a claim?
Yes – a male store worker can bring a ‘piggy-back claim’, by comparing himself with a female store worker (a ‘comparator’) who’s succeeded in bringing an equal pay claim against a higher-paid male comparator.
He may also receive the same amount back pay as her.
Will the claims cost me money?
Leigh Day are running this claim on a “no win no fee” basis.
What about people who have now left?
Anyone who has left within the last 6 months can still make a claim.
When will I get my money?
Equal pay claims can take a long time, so it may well be a few years, but if the claim is successful, you will be paid interest on some of the compensation awarded by a Tribunal.
If I am made redundant can I still bring an equal pay claim
Yes.
If you are made redundant you can still bring an equal pay claim in the employment tribunal but you must do so within 6 months, less one day, of your last day of employment. For example, if you are made redundant with effect from 10 September 2020, you have until 9 March 2021 to put a claim into the employment tribunal.
If you are made redundant and you are asked to sign any documents relating to your redundancy or your redundancy pay it is very important that you do not sign them until you have taken legal advice. You must tell your legal adviser that you have issued or intend to issue an equal pay claim.
Not yet joined the claim?
To join the claim please select your employer from the ‘Equal Pay Claims’ tab above.
Already a client?
If we are already bringing an equal pay claim on your behalf please keep us updated with any changes to your employment, in particular if you are made redundant.
How being made redundant may affect your compensation
If you are made redundant before your equal pay claim is resolved your compensation will stop accruing on your last day of employment.
If you have not yet joined the claim, remember that every day you delay joining the claim, the amount of compensation you can claim may get smaller.
For more information watch our video on how compensation will be calculated.