This equipment was donated by Thompsons solicitors Women at Work: 90 Years Since the Representation of the People Act 1918 Wednesday 3 rd December 2008

The Gender Equality Duty Lessons Learned from the Civil Service Pat Campbell Head of Equality, PCS Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Features of the Civil Service Well regulated Highly unionised Pay audits since 2002/3 Large female workforce (53%) mainly in lower grades Low pay is prevalent 10% staff earn under £15K and further 25% £15-20K p.a. Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Gender Pay Gap At the median UK average 12.8% for full time workers Civil Service 15.2% But by responsibility level only 4-6% differential At the mean UK average 17.1% (up from April 2008) Civil Service up to 28.5% in some areas Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Pay Bargaining in the Civil Service Pay settlements controlled by annual Treasury pay remit For 2008 annual settlements should be below 2% - no additional money for equal pay PCS industrial dispute Pay bargaining delegated to individual Departments and Agencies within the remit – who is the employer? Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Pay Audits 2003 Pay audits of all Departments and Agencies required since 2003 as a condition of pay delegation Only monitored, collected and published centrally once Findings on equal pay broadly in the “acceptable” range of 5% Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Discrimination in Pay Systems Pay audits found potential discrimination in: Pay progression systems Long pay scales Gender segregation Starting pay on appointment/promotion Allowances and bonuses Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Other Discriminatory Issues PCS also identified: Additional payments e.g. overtime, shift pay Performance related pay and appraisal systems Long service awards Benefits – extra annual leave, cars etc. Unjustified pay protection Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

The Bigger Picture Structural inequalities – where pay audits fall down Women’s concentration in lower paid lower status jobs Access to training opportunities Poor quality part time jobs Support for carers Access to flexible working at senior levels Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

PCS Equal Pay Strategy Bargaining supported by training for negotiators Awareness Raising amongst members and reps Campaigning and lobbying Legal action through equal pay cases Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

PCS Equal Pay Cases To address gender segregation and the undervaluing of women’s work Who is the employer/who controls pay and who is an appropriate comparator – Departments and their Agencies Age discrimination linked to pay progression and length of service Others on equal value, starting pay etc Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Gender Equality Duty Little or no impact on employment- related issues and equal pay No sectoral direction or co-ordination Low levels of understanding and compliance – high levels of complacency Weak enforcement Judicial review Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Department for Transport (DfT) Department for Transport – core Department and 7 agencies Separate pay audits in each area Highly gender segregated organisation Significant 16% gender pay gaps in a cross agency comparison – female admin staff in DVLA – male Driving Examiners in DSA Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Judicial review in DfT Judicial review proceedings lodged - Secretary of State cannot delegate responsibility for pay audits under GED Stayed pending hearing of linked equal pay claims (Spring 2009) EHRC has intervened after threat of judicial review for non-enforcement Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

What needs to change? More central direction from Ministers Funding to address equal pay and equal value issues An end to delegated pay bargaining A better understanding of the causes of the gender pay gap Measures to improve women’s opportunities to progress Valuing women’s work Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Lessons Learned from the GED Civil Service has paid more attention to public policy than to employment policies The GED is not understood or embedded into employment practices Enforcement provisions are too weak and action to easy to avoid Insufficient accountability for action and progress Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Where next for the GED? How will equal pay legislation be incorporated into the new Equality Bill? Will a single equality duty lead to a weakening of emphasis on gender equality and on equal pay? Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008