Determining equal value pay claims

An independent expert report as to equal value was not always necessary before an employment tribunal could determine an equal value pay claim based on the contents of a job evaluation scheme (“JES”). However, the fact that there was only a small difference in points awarded to a claimant and her male comparators in a JES did not of itself establish that the jobs were of equal value, and a claimant who relied on such a JES rather than an independent expert’s report risked failing to persuade the tribunal that her job was of equal value.