The Equal Pay Act 1970 (EPA) was the first statute in the UK which sought to address sex discrimination in the employment field. Like many areas of employment law, the EPA overlaps significantly with European law: in this case, the principle that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. Despite the apparent simplicity of this overriding principle – and the 30-odd years that the courts have had to get to grips with the EPA – it still presents as many problems as ever.
Historically, the majority of significant equal pay claims were in the public sector. However, recent trends suggest that equal pay claims may be moving away from this traditional field into the corporate and financial world. For example, employees are increasingly challenging their bonus awards under the EPA.
