Christie and others v John E Haith Ltd [2003] IRLR 670 EAT

Equal pay: Factors relevant to equal value evaluation and material factor defence

Date:

5 December 2003

In Christie and others v John E Haith Ltd, the EAT holds that an employment tribunal was correct to find that an employer could rely on the defence that there was a genuine material factor, which was not the difference in sex, that accounted for the pay differential between female seed-packers and their male comparators who dealt with much heavier packages, and who had additional duties loading and unloading delivery vehicles and emptying rubbish.