Clause 59
Equality Bill
11:15 am
Vera Baird (Solicitor General, Attorney General's Office; Redcar, Labour)
I would have thought that that was an assertion of law; it is one with which I disagree and so do the Government. I acknowledge entirely that EDF is a fine organisation. It is an organisation of organisations and we are happy and grateful to it for helping us all the way through the Bill. The tentacles that it has into equality and diversity are massively important to ensure that we are always in touch with people on the front line.
In summary, however, we do not believe that hypothetical comparators are either workable or required. We fear that allowing their use would create significant unintended consequences, some of which I have set out technically, and others I have exemplified. We have therefore decided, on balance, that ensuring pay equality is better served by maintaining our current approach. Clause 66 contains a provision to allow claims where there is evidence of direct discrimination in relation to contractual pay. I hope that the Committee will welcome that—it closes a gap in the current law. This law is better than it has been before, even in this specific way.
We will reflect carefully on what has been said, but we are not able to offer satisfaction today. I invite the hon. Lady not to press her amendment to a Division. However, it is good that we have had the discussion—we are, as she put it, all driving in the same direction. We are satisfied that we have a better state of affairs for the drive towards equal pay than that which she offers, but none the less, we appreciate that it is a tenable view that she is right.