Pay, benefits and working conditions 

On this page

• Sex equality
  
• Clear pay structures
  
• Treating employess equally
  
• Making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees
  
• Sunday working
  
• Pay, benefits and working conditions: Further information
  

 

Sex equality

The Equal Pay Act specifically relates to paying men and women the same wage for the same work. It applies to both full-time and part-time employees.

For example, if a female part-time employee is doing equal work to a male full-time employee she should get equal pay on a pro rata basis. This means that they should be on the same hourly rate.

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Clear pay structures

Fair pay also means that employees should know how their pay is made up.

For example, if you pay bonuses your employees should know what they have to do to earn a bonus, and how the bonus is calculated.

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Treating employess equally

Employers must give part-time and temporary employees the same benefits as full-time workers.

For example, if a part-time employee works half a normal working week, you must give them half the amount of holiday that a full-time employee doing the same job would get.

This also applies to other benefits such as access to training and career development, pensions and maternity

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Making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees

Under the Disability Discrimination Act, employers must make reasonable changes to the workplace and to employment arrangements so that disabled employees aren’t placed at an unfair disadvantage to their colleagues.

Read more about what counts as a “reasonable adjustment” in the legal centre <link to legal centre>.

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Sunday working

People who work in a shop or in the betting trade can opt out of Sunday working, provided they give their employer three months’ notice.

People who work in other types of organisation can also ask to not work on Sundays [JH1] because of their religion or belief. The employer must consider whether the business legitimately needs them to work on Sundays. Refusing to make changes to an employee’s work pattern can constitute indirect discrimination if the employer can’t justify it

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Pay, benefits and working conditions: Further information

For more detailed information on your obligations, visit the legal centre <link to legal centre>.

Code of practice on Racial Equality in Employment <CRE’s Statutory Code of Practice on racial equality in employment, PDF, 113 pages, currently at http://www.cre.gov.uk/downloads/employmentcode.pdf >

Acas produces a guide to the model workplace <link to http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/g/e/Model_Workplace.pdf>

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