NI: Law firm ordered to pay woman more than £250,000 in equal pay case

NI: Law firm ordered to pay woman more than £250,000 in equal pay case

A law firm has been ordered to pay more than £250,000 to a solicitor who was paid less than her male colleagues.

Margaret (Peggy) Mercer took an equal pay case against Belfast-based commercial law firm C & H Jefferson Solicitors, which has now merged with multinational firm DWF.

An industrial tribunal in Belfast heard Mrs Mercer had been denied the same pay for the same work, contrary to the Equal Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and European law.

She began working with the firm in 1999 and has been in the insurance defence litigation department since then.

In 2008 she was promoted to salaried partner.

In 2009, however, when she applied to the role of equity partner she was refused.

She only learned that her colleagues had been promoted in 2010 through the “office rumour mill”.

She flagged up the fact promotions were taking place informally, without a transparent selection process.

In June 2014 she told a partner she wanted to be paid the same as her male comparators – the issue was deferred until the end of the financial year.

She lodged an internal grievance, which was rejected, with the firm taking the view that her work as a salaried partner was “not as demanding as that of a salaried partner benefiting from a profit share arrangement”.

The firm did not accept her work was comparable to that of her male colleagues.

But the tribunal found she was employed on like work with her comparators going back to 2009.

The firm was ordered to pay her £116,542 due to the difference between her gross annual salary of £70,000 and the altered amount of £99,500 henceforth.

Additionally, she will receive £137,000 of annual salary falling six years prior to the date of her claim in June 2015 with interest of £19,710 on arrears.

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