Carol Fox wins interest rate battle in equal pay dispute for women workers

The news comes following a employment tribunal ruling in the case of 300 North Lanarkshire council workers who were disputing the level of interest they should be paid for their backdated claims.

The council was seeking a rate of four per cent but the judicial rate of interest is 8 per cent and employment tribunal judge Frances Eccles ruled that there is no discretion in law to vary this rate.

Carol Fox of Fox and Partners (pictured), who represented the women said: “We are really delighted to have a further decision in favour of our claimants.

“We expected to win on interest and hope that all Councils with outstanding equal pay cases will now think very carefully about continuing to defend this litigation. In summer 2015 many of these cases will reach their tenth anniversary.

“For the past decade women have fought a determined struggle for justice and equality in the face of opposition, obstruction and deliberate tactics employed to delay cases.

“We are now in the final phase of these equal pay cases and we call upon every Local Authority in Scotland to ensure that claimants now receive

settlements without further delay.”

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire council said: “The tribunal judgment deals with complex legal issues and needs to be studied in detail.

“The council is pleased the judge has ruled in its favour on the question of compensation for injury to feelings, in which claimants’ representatives attempted, unsuccessfully, to overturn established legal precedents.

“While the council recognises that the employment judge has not accepted its arguments in relation to judicial interest, we are considering whether this should be subject to an appeal.”