Hayward v. Cammell Laird Shipbuilders, 5 May 1988.
The appellant canteen cook charged the respondent employer with sex discrimination under the Equal Pay Act 1970 because she was paid less than male employees performing comparable work. Although the respondent admitted that the appellant was paid less in terms of wages than the male workers, it argued that, when factors of an overall remuneration package, such as sickness benefits and meal breaks, were taken into account, the appellant was treated as favorably as the men. The House of Lords of the UK reversed a lower court judgment accepting this argument and held that, under the Act, the appellant was entitled to parity in terms of pay without consideration of whether under the contract as a whole she was treated as favorably as male employees performing work of equal value.