David Hutchison

Dallas McMillan Solicitors, which acted for over 1,000 claimants in the case, said the council’s failure to set out a reliable and transparent job evaluation scheme led to the claimants and numerous other Fife Council workers receiving a lower pay grade than other workers employed in similar or equivalent roles with the council. That lower grading was said to be unfair and to the detriment of the claimants.

David Hutchison, Dallas McMillan’s head of employment law and a Law Society accredited specialist in employment law, started the action in 2016.

He said: “This is a landmark decision. We took on these claims having evaluated them and taken the view that the claimants were not being paid equally. We have represented these claimants for seven years and, throughout that time, Fife Council disputed the claims in full. That ultimately led to a four week long Employment Tribunal hearing and I am delighted that we have won the case. More importantly however, I am delighted that the claimants have taken a significant step towards winning their fight for equal pay.”

The judgment of the Employment Tribunal does not automatically entitle the claimants to an award of compensation. That issue is yet to be resolved and Mr Hutchison said he hopes that the judgement will persuade the council to start settlement negotiations.

He commented: “I would certainly encourage the council to seek to resolve these cases as soon as they can for the benefit of their workers, especially at a time when the cost of living is an issue of concern to everybody.

“If further litigation is required, that will unnecessarily delay matters and will only add to costs all round including to the taxpayer.”