(Solution) 5HR03 Question 10. AC 3.4: legislation that will affect reward practice at Mercy Frontier
Solution
Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 states that where males and females are doing “like work”, “work rated as equivalent” or “work of equal value”, then they must receive equal “contractual terms” unless there is “a material difference” between men and women and the difference is not based on sex. While equal pay focuses on salary, there are other elements of pay, like bonuses, pensions, holidays, and contractual benefits, which should also be considered (Acas, 2024). Mercy Frontier should therefore consider its overall reward package, not just the salary.
Impact on Mercy Frontier
Spot rate increases must occur in service and cannot place a person back in a position of historic disadvantage.Insuring against historic disadvantage on service spot rate and new starting salaries. The 4 days in the school calendar that are religious festival days also need to be checked for indirect discrimination and there is equal flexibility for employees with other faiths. Research around equal pay has confirmed that the underlying material reasons for gender wage gaps are linked to occupational segregation (Blau and Kahn, 2017), and that organisational and institutional arrangements can facilitate wage gaps (Rubery and Grimshaw, 2015). Mercy Frontier needs to implement analytical job evaluation, establish pay criteria, audit pay and have an appeal mechanism.
National Minimum Wage Act 1998
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and deemed Regulations provide minimum ages and apprenticed rates which are legally enforceable hourly rates. The rate is £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 or over from 26 May 2026 (£12.71 per hour; Acas 2026) with lower rates for workers aged under 21 and eligible workers for apprenticeship training. There are no benefits, check in time plus for the charity, which can replace the actual cash wage.
Impact on Mercy Frontier
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