Miss Susan Jones v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis — 2022

The claimant, a Band D Communications Supervisor in MetCC, compared herself with Mr Martin Leach, also a Band D Communications Supervisor at Hendon. The respondent accepted that they performed equal work and that Mr Leach received Premium Pay while the claimant did not. The issue was whether the difference was because of a material factor under section 69 Equality Act 2010.

The tribunal found that the respondent had applied new non-Premium Pay terms to employees who voluntarily moved into MetCC or joined it externally, while employees who moved involuntarily or compulsorily, including Mr Leach, retained Premium Pay under pay protection connected with the 2006 MetCC reorganisation and collective bargaining. The claimant had voluntarily applied for the MetCC role in 2014, was made aware before accepting it that Premium Pay would be removed, and received the Flexibility Comms Allowance instead.

The tribunal concluded that the new non-premium contract and the continuing pay protection for involuntary transferees were significant, relevant and causative of the pay difference. It also found that the lower payment was not because the claimant was a woman, noting among other matters that a male employee who applied at the same time was put on the same terms as the claimant and that women who transferred involuntarily had retained the old Premium Pay terms. The equal pay claim was therefore dismissed.