영국 동일임금법에 관한 연구 -판례의 태도를 중심으로-

Section 1(1) EPA 1970 implies an equality clause into all contracts of employment which do not already contain one. An equality clause, according to section 1(2) EPA 1970, is a provision relating to the terms, not just pay, of a contract under which a woman is employed. The clause has effect where a woman is: (1) employed on like work with a man in the same employment; (2) employed on work rated as equivalent with that of a man in the same employment; (3) employed on work which, not being work in (1) or (2), is, in terms of the demands made upon her, of equal value to that of a man in the same employment. The comparator needs to be selected by the complaint and be in the same employment as the claimant. This does not mean that the claimant can just choose an artificial or arbitrary group, in principle the comparison should be between the advantaged and the disadvantaged group. Section 1(3) EPA 1970 provides a 'material factor' or 'material difference' defence to an equal pay claim. This defence will an employer if they are able to show that the difference in pay is genuinely due to a material factor which is not the difference of sex. In cases involving like work or work rated as equivalent, the factor 'must' be a material difference between the woman's case and the amn's. However, in equal value claims the material factor 'may' be such a material difference.