Length of service relevant to pay

Cadman v Health and Safety Executive, Equal Opportunities Commission, Intervener (Case C-17/05) ECJ TLR 6 October

The employer operated a pay structure which reflected and rewarded the length of service. The female applicant employee complained under the Equal Pay Act 1970 that four male employees who were in the same band as her were paid substantially more. It was accepted that the male comparators had longer service than the applicant. In Handels-og Kontorfunktionaerernes Forbund i Danmark v Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening (Danfoss) (Case 109/88) [1991] ICR 74 (paragraph 25) the ECJ had held that where there was unequal pay because of the use of length of service as a criterion, the employer did not have to provide special justification for recourse to that criterion. The Court of Appeal had remitted the case to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice because it was uncertain as to whether the ECJ had departed from that ruling in case law subsequent to Danfoss.