The agreement must be in writing and state: The employee may not reduce any terms and conditions of employment of an employee who has raised a pay equity claim or who is covered by a union-raised claim for the purpose of settling that claim. The agreed review frequency is also included.Ī pay equity claim settlement may also include terms and conditions of employment other than remuneration, if the parties agree. a process is agreed to review the employee’s remuneration so that pay equity is maintained.remuneration is determined that does not differentiate between male and female employees, and to which all parties agree and.Again, the employer has 45 days to consider whether it is an arguable pay equity claim. It is possible for multiple unions to cover workers engaged by a single employer and raise a claim together.

If an employer believes they have genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds for not being a part of the process, they must provide those reasons in writing to the union. The union can represent member employees who perform the same or substantially similar work across multiple employers. Unions can raise a claim on behalf of members who carry out undervalued work. It simply means the parties can move into the assessment phase and good faith bargaining. Accepting the claim is arguable does not mean an employer agrees there is pay inequity, or there will be settlements. An employer must take a light-touch approach when deciding whether a claim is arguable. The Act states there is a low threshold to raising a claim. The employer must decide within 45 working days whether they consider the claim is an arguable pay equity claim.

characterisation of the work as women’s work.

social, cultural or historical factors and.

When considering current or historical undervalue, relevant factors include: Female-dominated work is work performed by a workforce that is approximately 60 percent, or more, female. Court action is the last resort, making pay equity claims more accessible to aggrieved employees.Īn employee can raise a claim if they perform traditionally female-dominated work and there are factors that indicate the work is currently, or has historically, been undervalued. The process aligns with the existing bargaining framework in the Employment Relations Act 2000, so this will be familiar to both unions and businesses. The Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020 introduces a practical and accessible process to raise and consider claims of systemic sex-based pay undervaluation in female-dominated occupations.

Pay equity is much broader, it relates to women and men receiving the same pay for doing jobs that are different, but of equal value – jobs requiring similar degrees of skill, responsibility and effort. Processes regarding equal pay were in place before this amendment. Pay equity settlements will put more money in the hands of some of our lowest paid workers.Įqual pay relates to women and men being paid the same pay to do the same job. In some traditionally female-dominated occupations, wages have often been kept lower than that of traditionally male-dominated occupations. The then Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter, described it as ‘one of the biggest gains for gender equity in the workplace since the Equal Pay Act 1972’. Its purpose is to address pay equity issues in the pay rates of sectors with female-dominated workforces. The Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020 came into force in November 2020.

How does our society value specific types of work? There is no single answer to that question, but with threats of strike action on the horizon issues such as pay equity are at the forefront of industrial action for a number of sectors of the workforce.

Equal pay act 2020