Back payments following unequal pay: further temporary accounting treatment
4. After regulation 30A insert—
“Back payments following unequal pay – further temporary accounting treatment
30AA.—(1) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a)a reference to an employee of a local authority (“E”) includes a reference to a former employee, an officer or a former officer of that authority;
(b)a reference to the contract under which E was or is employed includes a reference to the terms of appointment under which an officer held or holds office; and
(c)E received unequal pay when the amount of pay E received from the authority for work done by E during a particular period is less than the appropriate amount of pay for that work done during that period.
(2) In this regulation—
“appropriate amount of pay”, in relation to E, means the amount of pay to which E is entitled in accordance with any sex equality clause deemed to be included, by virtue of section 66(1) of the Equality Act 2010(1), in the contract under which E was or is employed;
“back payment” means a payment of arrears of remuneration made by a local authority, for work—
done by E;
in respect of which E received unequal pay; and
done before E first receives any increase in pay as a result of receiving that unequal pay,
which is paid to E, or part of which is paid to E (“the net payment”) and part of which is paid to another person on behalf of E (“relevant deductions”), because E received unequal pay for that work; and
“social security costs” means any contributions by a local authority to any state social security or pension scheme, fund or arrangement.
(3) Where a local authority—
(a)is required by an employment tribunal or a court to make a back payment;
(b)(i)considers that it is probable that an employment tribunal or a court will require it to make a back payment; and
(ii)is able to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of such back payment;
(c)has reached an agreement or otherwise determined to make a back payment; or
(d)(i)considers that it is probable that it will reach an agreement or otherwise determine to make a back payment; and
(ii)is able to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of such back payment,
paragraph (4) applies.
(4) Where this paragraph applies, the authority need not charge to a revenue account an amount in respect of—
(a)the back payment; or
(b)social security costs or other costs incurred by the authority in relation to that back payment,
until the date on which the authority must pay that back payment, or the net payment, to the employee (as required by the tribunal or court or in accordance with the agreement or determination, as the case may be).
(5) Subject to paragraph (6), this regulation ceases to have effect on 1st April 2020.
(6) Where paragraph (4) applies to an amount, it continues to apply until the date on which the payment is actually made, whether or not the date is on or after 1st April 2020.”.