Benveniste v. University of Southampton, 23 November 1988.
The appellant charged her employer, the University of Southampton, with sex discrimination in violation of the Equal Pay Act 1970 because she was paid less than men employed in the same position.  She had been initially employed at a time when the University was subject to severe financial constraints, and, although she had subsequently been given extra annual pay increases, she was still not paid as much as the men.  First the Court of Appeal of England ruled that the financial constraints constituted a "material difference" in circumstances and thus originally justified the difference in salaries under Section 1(3) of the Act.  It also held, however, that once those constraints had ended, the justification also ended and the appellant was then entitled to be paid the same wages as men in comparable positions.
D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D004651:Employment; D005060:Europe; D006280:Health Workforce; D007603:Jurisprudence; D011287:Prejudice; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012923:Social Class; D012940:Social Problems; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom
Court Decision; Developed Countries; Economic Factors; Europe; Human Resources; Labor Force--legal aspects; Northern Europe; Pay Equity--legal aspects; Sex Discrimination--legal aspects; Social Discrimination; Social Problems; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; United Kingdom