“Unfair discrimination” in the workplace is both unlawful and severely penalised by our courts, so it’s vital to distinguish it from lawful “differentiation”.
Most employers and employees will have heard of the “equal pay for equal work” principle in our labour laws, but there is still a lot of uncertainty over its reach, and over when an employer may fairly and lawfully differentiate between employees carrying out the same duties and/or work of equal value.
Let’s clarify with reference to a recent Labour Court decision concerning two “surveillance auditors” in a casino, whose unequal pay packages sparked allegations of unfair discrimination on the basis of both race and gender.
