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material factor defencepay protection
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council v Hamilton
[2011] ICR 655; UKEAT/0413/09/ZT (Bury MBC v Hamilton; Sunderland CC v Brennan)
Key Principle
On a genuine material factor defence to an equal pay claim the employer must prove the factual explanation for the pay differential, and where a productivity bonus paid mostly to men has lost any genuine link to productivity it cannot justify the disparity, while pay-protection arrangements that perpetuate a tainted differential must themselves be objectively justified.
Area of Law
General
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