Councils face new equal pay claims in shake up
The biggest shake-up of the NHS in decades could leave councils exposed to even more equal pay claims, which have already cost tens of millions of pounds, it is feared.
Authorities are working to find out if they could be asked to cover back pay for hundreds of public health staff who transferred to them when Primary Care Trusts were abolished in April.
Councils have had to pay out tens of millions of pounds to deal with equal pay. The payouts relate to low-paid women, such as cleaners, who received about £10,000 a year less than men doing equivalent jobs.
The claims are for back pay. In Dudley, officers say equal pay is a changing area of the law and the council is monitoring the situation for its staff, which includes 93 employees who transferred from the NHS. The authority has already spent £50 million to date settling claims. Bosses today said they could not speculate on any extra bill from former NHS workers' claims.
Councillor Gaye Partridge said: "We had already considered the potential for equal pay claims before public health came over to the local authority. However, equal pay is a changing area of law, and the council is continuing to monitor the situation across all areas of the authority."
Sandwell Council's costs for equal pay claims could rise beyond £36m, according to a report last year. In April, 46 former PCT staff transferred to the borough council. Its finance chief Councillor Steve Eling said a consultation is taking place on a proposed restructure of public health which could better incorporate workers into the council and end any imbalance in pay.
In Staffordshire, a further 29 ex-public health workers moved over to the county council. The authority was unavailable for comment today on the potential for further equal pay claims.
Bosses at Wolverhampton City Council have already paid out £33m to settle claims in 2008 and earlier this year chiefs feared they may have to spent a further £30m. Almost 2,500 Walsall Council workers have accepted out of court settlements over the long-running equal pay dispute. Birmingham City Council is facing a £1.1bn equal pay bill, following a successful court challenge by female cleaners and dinner ladies.
Walsall Council, Wolverhampton City Council and Birmingham City Council were all unavailable for comment.
