The Equality and Human Rights Commission has sensationally withdrawn its backing for a landmark equal pay court case, which is being heard this week. Commission chairman, Trevor Phillips, said it would no longer fund the equal pay claim by 800 women working for Redcar and Cleveland Council, which was being heard at the Court of Appeal this week. The case is expected to last all week, and Mr Phillips said instead of going through the courts, councils and unions should be given a limited time to negotiate a settlement. He also called for the Equal Pay Act to be scrapped, in order to cut the growing backlog of legal cases. ‘There's no point in us throwing petrol on this legal forest fire by supporting even more individual cases through the tribunal system,' he said. ‘Instead, we need to come up with radical solutions.' Redcar and Cleveland Council's cabinet member for corporate resources, Cllr Peter Scott, said: ‘I believe the outcome of this week's case will be of national significance.' Cllr Scott added he was pleased the commission supported how the council had handled the case so far. Jan Parkinson, managing director of Local Government Employers, said: ‘Councils have been hamstrung in their ability to deliver on equal pay agreements, as no-win no-fee lawyers have been holding up the process for many years.' But Huw Jones, an associate at law firm Eversheds, said a moratorium for equal pay cases could prove difficult to bring about. ‘Any attempt by the UK to impose a moratorium on equal pay claims could well be in breach of European legislation,' he said. ‘This means individual employees may have recourse through the European courts.'
