55 years on from the Equal Pay Act, Prospect members reflect on equal pay win at Natural England
This year marks 55 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed, a historic moment in the fight for gender equality in the workplace. But decades on, workers at Natural England faced their own battle for equal pay which resulted in a tribunal claim.
In 2018, Prospect undertook a survey of members working for Natural England to get a picture of the impact that pay austerity was having. It appeared that it was taking a long time for members to progress to the target rate for their role and we wanted to see if this was disproportionately more noticeable for women compared to men. Many respondents to the survey said that they were “stuck” at the lower end of the pay scales.
Following review of the survey results, Prospect pushed for Natural England to conduct an equal pay audit. Results showed a mean pay gap in favour of men which increased in size with the seniority of the grade involved. The mean pay gap for Lead Advisors, Group Co-ordinators and Specialists was 2.75%; for Team Leaders, Senior Advisors and Senior Specialists was 4.86% and for Managers, Principal Advisors and Principal Specialists was 7.25%. This translated to some members being paid thousands of pounds less than their male counterparts.
Much of the difference in pay could be traced back to the formation of Natural England in 2006. There were founding bodies: English Nature; the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service, each of which had differing pay structures. Further, since 2010, employees had received little or no increases in salary as a result of the introduction of pay restraint across Government departments and agencies (‘the public sector pay freeze’).
In January 2021, an equal pay collective grievance was lodged with Natural England and, following the grievance process, in February 2022 Prospect submitted a claim to the employment tribunal for a group of 38 members working in Natural England as managers, advisors and specialists. After significant preparation and several preliminary hearings, a final hearing was due to take place at the end of 2024. However, some 6 years after the initial pay survey was undertaken, we managed to reach a settlement with the employer, with over £1M in compensation being achieved for the 38 claimants and a commitment to discussion around pay progression.
At a meeting earlier this year, the women involved in the claim spoke about what the case meant for them.
For one claimant, the initial reaction was shock. Anna Collins recalled the “moment of astonishment” when she realised just how much less she was earning than male colleagues.
Joanna Carter told fellow claimants:
“The outcome has been utterly life-changing. It has meant I’ve been able to buy a property. At first, I thought about accepting the first offer, but I realised I was undervaluing myself. This shows why women need to be supported to stand firm.”
Beth Brockett reflected on how the case connects to the long struggle for equal pay:
“Watching Made in Dagenham it’s tempting to believe these inequalities are behind us, but clearly, they are not. It felt good to be part of a movement calling out this injustice, and I hope our win means others won’t have to go through this. Being in a union made all the difference.”
And male colleagues played their part too. As comparator Neil Pike said:
“Equal pay isn’t just about fairness, it’s about protecting everyone. When one group of workers is disadvantaged, the potential exists for us all to be disadvantaged.”
More than half a century on from the Equal Pay Act, this case is a reminder that the fight for equality at work is still unfinished. The settlement at Natural England shows the power of workers standing together, and the important role trade unions play in supporting members.
