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The principle of equal pay for equal work was enshrined in legislation in the Equal Pay Act 1970, which not only provides that men and women doing the same job must be paid the same wages but that work of equal value must be remunerated equally. In one case, speech therapists argued successfully that their work was of equal value to pharmacists and clinical psychologists employed by the NHS, who received a higher salary.

If the employee is able to demonstrate that she has earned less than a man in a comparable job, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to explain the difference in pay by showing that it is due to a material factor other than sex. Even if there is a gender-neutral explanation for the difference, the female employee may argue that the difference operates in a discriminatory way. Where liability is found, the employee can claim compensation for loss of earnings over a period of up to six years.

In this case, Unison came to a settlement with the North Cumbria trust on behalf of 1500 women working at two hospitals in North-west England. The deal will give each woman between £35,000 and £200,000, as an employment tribunal decided they had suffered pay discrimination since 1991.

The women worked as nurses, cleaners, porters and telephonists, and claimed their work was of equal value to that of male workers in comparable positions. Unison brought the case in 1997, before the government introduced Agenda for Change last year to address unequal NHS pay.

Unison has given councils two years to carry out the pay and job conditions reviews detailed in their single status agreement. But only one-third of local government bodies have completed job evaluations.