THE Government is to cut red tape to speed up equal pay hearings, employment minister Tessa Jowell announced this week.
Proposals include helping tribunals decide cases more quickly by calling in expert advice, simplifying the claims procedure where a group of women have essentially the same case an issuing questionnaires that will help prospective claimants decide whether to bring legal action. The gender pay gap has halved from 37 per cent to 18 per cent since 1970 but, even without breaks for children, a mid-skilled woman will still earn pound;240,000 less than a man over her working life.
