Dudley Council forced to pay out £5m in equal pay dispute

Hundreds of women took legal action against Dudley Council after claiming they were not being paid enough compared to men.

Councillor Steve Clark, cabinet member for finance said: “It’s essential that our staff feel valued and are appropriately rewarded for the work that they do in helping us to deliver the best possible services for residents.

“In common with other councils, Dudley has had to settle claims in relation to alleged historic disparity in pay between employees.

“Under accounting rules we have been able to mitigate the financial impact by spreading the cost of these settlements over 20 years.”

Despite having already paid out the £5 million, the council classes the cost as capital expenditure meaning it only costs its budget around £250,000 a year.

The council paid out the £5 million over three years, with payments ranging from £200 to £104,447.07 for one settlement alone in 2015.

Hundreds of women previously took legal action against the authority in 2013, saying they deserved more money out of settled equal pay disputes.

Some females had accepted offers in 2010 for only a couple of hundred pounds whereas others had received claims of up to £90,000.

Councillor Ken Finch said: “It was taken out of our hands. It was a government initiative and who’s to argue about equal pay?

“I am a big believer in equality and I think it’s something we should have tackled years ago. It was on the cards years ago - I was involved when I was a member of a trade union years ago

“It’s a just reward and it’s no more than they deserve.

“You take two school teachers - one is a male, one female, why shouldn’t they get equal pay?”

Councillor Finch added the council was doing the ‘right thing’ by paying up.

He added: “They’re doing it now - the right thing and the answer is yes, of course they should and if there is anyone who has not been paid they should be paid out.

“Birmingham has had to do it. All the councils have had the same problem.”