New job - gender pay

[TinyDancer45]

I work in a local authority and took a pay cut from my previous role to work there. I was told at the time of accepting the job that they couldn't match my previous salary (although it was in the parameters of their pay band) and policy was to put me at the lowest spinal point of the band. This was about a 3k pay cut.

Eighteen months on, I've been offered a new job in the same authority but in a different team. The role is more suited to my previous experience and in the same band I am now. I asked to be put at the higher end of the band to reflect the fact I'd taken a pay cut to work in the organisation. They said no. I now find out my male predecessor had worked in the role for 12 months and had negotiated his salary at the time of appointment to be placed at the top point of the band. It feels slightly unfair to me given we have a similar level of experience (in fact I have more) but he was able to negotiate and I wasn't.

Is it worth pursuing or should I just accept? It's a good fit for me but the difference in pay offer between what my predecessor was receiving and what I've been offered is 5k which is a decent amount per month.

Am I right to feel a bit miffed by this? It's a like for like job and I'd be taking on all of his responsibilities.

Is that even still legal?

Yes that does seem cheeky. Worth speaking with a union rep or ACAS. Caveat being you'll upset relations in a new role doing so.

On another note, your role before last is not a good negotiating strategy for pay in the new role - you'd have been far better going in with the points about your experience and capabilities

Can you contact ACAS or your union if you're in one

Thanks all. I have made my case in terms of experience and skills - I'd been doing this job for years until my move to this authority,

This happened to me when I joined the LA . Put a case across and was told no.
joined a new team and then found out two male colleagues had been put on a higher band when joining with less experience .
I was speechless . I opted not to pursue as now in a new team. Didn’t want the stress .
but what was disappointing it was a female manager , who did this to me.

Call them out on it. I know someone who had the same at a uni. It worked for her.

I think I'd start hinting about an equal pay claim if they couldn't give a damn good explanation as to why they've upgraded your colleague and not you.

In many parts of the public sector, everyone goes on the bottom of the pay scale and the rest of it is just for show, but it sounds like there is scope where you work to be put higher up the scale, but they've done it for him and not you, which looks fishy.

Absolutely raise this. Are you in a union? Don't give in!

Don't know if this will help, I work in the private sector, found out during benchmarking that my male colleague had been paid more than me as I got a rise and he didn't. I raised a grievance which was upheld and I got backpay of around £6000 plus pension contributions of which had to put my part in too. They made it very fair, so my backdated raise took into account how long my colleague was in the role and had to wait for his rise and made it the same. Good luck!