Equal pay is ‘historic’ issue

Council insists only a‘very small number’of claims are left to settle

South Lanarkshire Council has only a “very small number” of equal pay claims to settle, the Reformer can reveal.

The authority released a statement after a report published last week by the Accounts Commission into the ongoing equal pay issue.

According to the report, South Lanarkshire Council had 471 outstanding cases at the end of September last year from a total of 4,631 claims.

But Paul Manning, the council’s executive director of finance, told the Reformer that number was now lower and described equal pay as an “historic issue” in the region.

He said: “South Lanarkshire Council has long been committed to fair pay for those in comparable jobs, regardless of gender, and the council has always been clear that any employee who was entitled to money should get it.

“We have now concluded the vast majority of claims we received with only a very small number still to deal with.

“Details of the settlements have been the subject of a number of reports to committee and were accounted for in our annual accounts in 2014 and 2015.

“This is essentially an historic issue for South Lanarkshire Council and will have no significant impact this year or going forward.”

Up until September 30 last year, South Lanarkshire Council had spent £82.6 million on equal pay settlements and legal fees. Nearly 23,000 Glasgow City Council workers made equal pay claims, with the authority paying out £91.4m in settlements and legals fees. Almost half of those claims were still outstanding last year.

The highest amount paid out by a council in Scotland was £129.9m in North Lanarkshire. In total 27,000 claims were still unsettled across the country while the whole process had cost councils £750m.

Pauline Weetman, commission member, said: “Equal pay is both an incredibly important issue and a legal duty for Scotland’s councils, to eliminate decades of inequality.

“However, implementation of equal pay has been a substantial challenge for local government.

“Councils need to be confident that pay equality is embedded in how they operate.

“It’s critical that officers ensure that they are doing all they can to fulfil their duties in relation to equal pay and publicly report this work, and that elected members continue to scrutinise and challenge their progress.”