In the controversial case of Allen and others v GMB, the GMB encouraged a group of female staff at Middlesbrough Borough Council to accept a settlement for equal pay claims relating to back pay that they believed they were entitled to when compared with a group of predominantly male employees. The GMB feared that, if the claims were successful and ate into the council's resources, a threat could be posed to pay protection for employees who could be downgraded under the move towards single status. The union also did not want to put negotiations for pay rises for all its members at risk.

The Court of Appeal has decided that an employment tribunal was entitled to find that, although the GMB had a legitimate aim (securing pay protection and future pay for other groups), its means of achieving that aim (choosing not to pursue a better deal for the women) were not proportionate.

In doing so, the Court of Appeal rejected the Employment Appeal Tribunal's narrow interpretation of the test of justification in cases of indirect discrimination, an approach that was strongly criticised at the time [subscription required] by our consultant editor Darren Newman.

Read the transcript of the case on the BAILII website.

UPDATE: The GMB has stated on its website that it is seeking leave to appeal to the House of Lords.