North West council pays out £3.5m to settle equal pay claims: report

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council has agreed to pay out £3.5m to settle equal pay claims, it has been reported.

The GMB union said some of its members would receive “substantial five figures sums” as a result..

It added that the case had been to the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The council had also made applications to the Court of Appeal but had not proceeded with them.

According to the union, this is the third multi-million pound settlement for equal pay claims for its members in the North West - Knowsley and Liverpool Councils being the other two.

Paul McCarthy, GMB Regional Secretary, said: “This is a huge victory for GMB members at St Helens Council – and for equal rights in general.

“The authority used every legal argument they could to avoid paying out but after years of wasting everyone’s time they failed.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Simpsons Solicitors who took on the case and will pass on 100% of the compensation – without taking a penny of members’ settlement.”

A spokesman for the council said it would not be commenting on the settlement.