Former Network Rail employee awarded £75,000 in equal pay case

A woman who used to work for Network Rail has been awarded £75,000 to settle an equal pay claim going back several years. Tracey Myers worked for the company as a training assurance specialist until she was made redundant in 2014. She later discovered that when she started in 2007, she had been paid 37% less than a male colleague doing similar work. When she left after seven years, the same male colleague was still earning 15% more than her. Ms Myers didn’t discover the full extent of the underpayment until she took the company to the Employment Tribunal on the grounds of unfair dismissal, harassment and equal pay. She said: “That’s when I was shocked at just how different some of the salaries were. I thought that’s just unfair.” She claimed that when she was made redundant, she was “better qualified and skilled” than some male colleagues who retained their jobs. She also claimed that she had been subjected to “intolerable harassment” by two colleagues and was denied equal training opportunities. The tribunal rejected her claims of unfair dismissal and harassment but upheld the equal pay claim and awarded her £75,000 compensation. A Network Rail spokesperson added the company “aspires to be an inclusive and diverse organisation that works hard to ensure we embrace equality at every level”. From April onwards, large companies employing more than 250 employees will have to report the overall pay gap between men and women. Legal experts believe this could lead to more women making equal pay claims as the issue comes more into focus and gains more public attention. Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of employment law.