The legal requirement of ensuring equality between men and women’s terms of employment can be found in the Equal Pay Act (EPA) 1970, Art 141 (formerly Art 119) of the EC Treaty and EC Directive 75/117 (the Equal Pay Directive). Although these legislative provisions protect men and women alike, the evidence suggests that a woman’s average weekly earnings are only 78% of a man’s earnings (New Earnings Survey 2000, Labour Market Trends). Therefore, in practical terms, most cases for equal pay are brought by women. This is further compounded by the segregation of women into jobs perceived as ‘women’s jobs’, which are traditionally in the service sector and in the lower pay bracket. Job segregation is seen as a major obstacle to equality in employment. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998, discussed in Chapter 14, above, may have an impact in this area. However, there is an argument that the current national minimum wage has been set too low to be effective. (See Sachdev, S and Wilkinson, F, Low Pay, the Working of the Labour Market and the Role of the Minimum Wage, 1998.)
The legal requirement of ensuring equality between men and women’s terms of employment can be found in the Equal Pay Act (EPA) 1970, Art 141 (formerly Art 119) of the EC Treaty and EC Directive 75/117 (the Equal Pay Directive). Although these legislative provisions protect men and women alike, the evidence suggests that a woman’s average weekly earnings are only 78% of a man’s earnings (New Earnings Survey 2000, Labour Market Trends). Therefore, in practical terms, most cases for equal pay are brought by women. This is further compounded by the segregation of women into jobs perceived as ‘women’s jobs’, which are traditionally in the service sector and in the lower pay bracket. Job segregation is seen as a major obstacle to equality in employment. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998, discussed in Chapter 14, above, may have an impact in this area. However, there is an argument that the current national minimum wage has been set too low to be effective. (See Sachdev, S and Wilkinson, F, Low Pay, the Working of the Labour Market and the Role of the Minimum Wage, 1998.)
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