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Ireland
Pawlukowska v Villaverde Ltd [2013]
Decision Number:
Published on: 29/10/2013
Issues Covered:
Discrimination Pay
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Bernadette Treanor Founder
Bernadette Treanor Founder
Bernadette treanor

Bernadette Treanor is the founder of Beo Solutions, an employee relations and engagement consultancy which provides best practice expert leadership and impartial organisational support in the areas of employee relations, employee engagement, workplace investigations, disciplinary hearings and mediation. 

An expert in equality law, Bernadette provides Equality reviews and assessments, including assessments of cases being prepared. She is a Committee member of the Employment Law Association of Ireland (ELAI) and CIPD member. She reviews equality Decisions issued by the Equality Tribunal for Legal Island monthly and chairs its annual Equality Conference aimed at equality practitioners.

Background

The complainant lodged a claim for equal pay with a male comparator in the same employment. The respondent did not engage with the Tribunal at any stage and the Equality Officer considered the case on the basis of the evidence provided by the complainant. The difference in pay, according to the complainant was initially 70 cent per hour changing to 20 cent per hour.

The Equality Officer accepted that the complainant was engaged in ‘like work’ in respect of the male comparator and that the complainant had established a prima facie case of discriminatory treatment on the gender ground. In such situations it is for the respondent to demonstrate if grounds, other than the discriminatory grounds – in this case gender, exist for the difference in pay and render the rates of pay lawful. As the respondent did not respond to the complaint no such ground was considered and the Equality Officer found there were no grounds other than gender for the pay disparity.
The complainant was awarded equal remuneration with the named comparator from 27 September 2008 until 27 September 2011, the latter being the date of referral of the claim. This award was considered income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.
Why is this case of interest?
 It indicates how a clam for equal pay will be considered where the only information available is that of the complainant.
Find the Decision here: http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2013/August/DEC-E2013-091- Full_Case_Report.html

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 29/10/2013
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