The False Claims Act works - Times Republican
Four decades ago, on Oct. 27, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law my bipartisan updates to the False Claims Act. At the time, I never imagined this sharpened Civil War-era tool would rec...
Next successfully appeals equal pay ruling - Lewis Silkin
Next has successfully appealed some (but not all) of a landmark equal pay decision from two years ago, providing some useful clarification on when market forces can be used to justify unequal pay.
We explain the ruling and what this means for employers, especially those in the retail sector. We also look briefly at what this means for employers preparing to explain pay differentials as a key aspect of compliance with the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive.
Back in 2024, an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that a number of differences in pay between predominantly female retail sales consultants and predominantly male warehouse operatives at Next could not be justified. The most significant part of the ruling was that a difference in basic pay based on market forces was essentially just an argument about cost, and so could not be used to justify unequal pay. As we explained at the time, this attracted considerable interest, particularly for other large retailers facing similar equal pay claims.
As expected, Next appealed this decision. This appeal partly succeeded, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has made some useful comments about market forces and when these can (and cannot) be a valid reason for differences in pay.
A quick reminder of the law… If two jobs done by a man and a woman are of equal value, an employer must pay the same rate for both jobs unless there is a material factor which explains the difference. This factor cannot involve direct sex...
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