Claiming compensation under equal pay agreements: time limits for claimants

Equal pay law allows you to claim loss of earnings and interest up to a maximum six years past - or five in Scotland. There are strict time procedures on how you should file your claim which you should meet. But even if you have been told you have missed out equalpaylawyer.co.uk may be able to bring a case on your behalf.

Equal pay law allows you to claim loss of earnings and interest up to a maximum six years past - or five in Scotland.

Our equal pay lawyers can secure proper compensation from your local authority on your behalf and if they fail to meet their responsibilities we can take your case to an employment tribunal and ask them to award it.

But as with all legal proceedings, employment tribunals involve strict procedures and time limits - and claims can fail if these are not met.

You need to claim within a fixed time of leaving the job you were discriminated against in. In general, you must lodge a written grievance with your employer or former employer within six months of the date of leaving or changing jobs. Normally, that means when you leave employment, but it can also mean a change of job with the same employer or having your job transferred to a new employer.

You must then wait at least 28 days before lodging a claim with a tribunal but it must be lodged no more than nine months minus one day after leaving the job or changing employer.

If you think you have a claim you should fill out a claim advice form immediately or call us on 0800 066 99 10.

• If you are still doing the same job as when the discrimination took place, you can pursue an equal pay claim at any time but the later you leave it to claim, the more compensation you will miss out on, as the tribunal can only award back pay for six years - or five Scotland.
  
• If you retired in the last six months, or are planning to retire you must pursue a grievance within six months and lodge a claim within nine months, less a day, of retiring.
• If you have you been promoted or changed to a different job with the same employer then the time limits could be measured from the time of change, so you should still pursue a grievance within six months and claim within nine months or risk losing compensation for losses before the change. In some cases, a job change will not trigger a time limit but the only safe course is to assume that time has started to run. If in doubt, ask the equalpaylawyer.
• If there have there been significant changes to your job, in, say, its responsibilities or the work you are required to do they also may also start time running. Again, if in doubt, ask the equalpaylawyer.
• If your job the same, but your employer has changed through privatisation or transfer, the time limits are measured from the date of the transfer which permit you to pursue a grievance with your old employer within six months and lodge a claim within nine months.
• If you have had some compensation already and signed a "COT3" or Compromise Agreement you can claim up to the date in your settlement agreement has been concluded and can't be reopened, but you may have a claim for losses after the date of the settlement and the rules above will apply to that claim.

Even if you think you are out of time, you should contact equalpaylawyer.co.uk immediately. Many people have been badly advised by their employer, and occasionally their union or their union appointed legal representative, and may have a negligence claim which will enable them to claim compensation.

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