Workmen win equal pay claim against Welsh university after suing for sex discrimination

A group of male workers at the University of Wales, Trinity St David (UWTSD) have won compensation of around £500,000 following legal action where they claimed they were being paid less than their female counterparts.

Twenty-three men, including caretakers and tradesmen, won the compensation claim following proceedings in which they argued they were paid an average of £4,000 less per year from 2007 to 2013, when compared to female staff on the same pay grade.

The group was initially employed at Swansea Metropolitan University, which merged with Trinity Saint David last year. The university denied that the difference was due to gender, saying it was related to different contract terms, which were changed by the previous employer.

It is believed that this is the biggest group of men to have launched legal action for sex discrimination.

The university decided not to go further with the claim and agreed to provide £500,000 compensation, but argued that the matter was to be dealt with by the former university, an admission made by claimants as well.

“We came to the view the original claim presented by staff to the former Swansea Metropolitan University had due merit and, as a result, an appropriate remedy should be agreed and actioned”, said an UWTSD spokesman.

“The University of Wales Trinity Saint David had no involvement in the decisions that were made by Swansea Metropolitan University in 2007. This was a complex case and we are very disappointed the new university now has to deal with, in an appropriate manner and with due care, the consequences of historical decisions”.

Photo: Hoboton via Free Images

Further reading:

Government considers all-female shortlists for FTSE 100 companies

UK must ‘solve the culture challenge’ to truly close gender pay gap

Number of women on FTSE 100 boards above 20% for first time

Global gender gap getting narrower, as women seek equal footing

Percentage of female City managers has doubled in the last year