Daphne Romney KC successfully represents 1200 claimants in an equal pay claim against Fife Council.

Written by Cloisters

Image of Daphne Romney KC

In the landmark victory for Fife Council workers, Daphne Romney KC persuaded the Dundee Tribunal that job evaluations which restricted their right to claim equal value with male workers, such as refuse collectors gardeners and street sweepers, were unreliable.

The Tribunal concluded that after hearing three weeks of evidence it could not rule out manipulation of the results and that the Council's failure to keep written records was 'institutional failure'.

The next step will be for the 1200 claimants, including cleaners, cooks and carers, to ask ACAS appointed experts to assess whether their work is indeed of equal value to their competitors, although the claimants' solicitor David Hutchinson from Dallas McMillan, has called on the council to settle the claims without further involvement of the courts.

The judgment means that, if successful in establishing equal value or the Council conceding that position, the claimants will be entitled to arrears of pay going back to 2011, a claim worth potentially nearly £50 million.

To read more about the case, click here.