Respond to an equal pay questionnaire
NOTE: The statutory equal pay questionnaire procedure was repealed with effect from 6 April 2014 and remains relevant only for the purposes of proceedings that relate to a contravention that occurred before that date.
This task is about responding to an equal pay questionnaire under the statutory questionnaire procedure. However, it remains relevant after 6 April 2014, as employers that receive a questionnaire after that date may still be under a statutory obligation to respond if the questions relate to an alleged breach of an equality clause or rule that occurred before 6 April 2014. Prudent employers may decide to respond to reasonable requests for information in any event.
Key points
- Under the Equality Act 2010, employees who think that they may have an equal pay claim can send the employer a questionnaire to obtain information. For example, a female employee might ask about the rate of pay of a male colleague in a comparable role.
- An employment tribunal can draw adverse inferences if, without good reason, the employer does not respond to the questionnaire within the prescribed time limit or if it provides evasive answers.
