Possible/ probable discrimination

[LumpfishNoodle]

Debated putting this in AIBU, but I'm so fragile right now, I don't think I could handle any flak.
I work in the NHS. I'm qualified. My boss isn't qualified. Other than that we have the same job titles and he's a band higher (Band 7) than me (Band 6).
That isn't actually the issue right now. My boss has been promoted, and initially I was expected to take his job, and my job would disappear.
It now looks like his boss is planning on doing away with the Band 7, not changing anything else, but expecting me to do the Band 7 job as a Band 6.
To complicate things, I was a Band 7, but was moved on protected pay into this role, due to a nervous breakdown 3 years ago. The protection ended in November, resulting in a £300 pm pay cut. Despite the fact that I've effectively been acting up into the Band 7 since September, I haven't been paid any extra.
Is this sexual discrimination?

Do you have any reason to believe this is due to your sex?

There are two parts to the case; what's happening (being expected to do a band 7 job as a band 6) and why its happening (sex discrimination).
What is happening seems clear cut so focus on that for now. Contact ACAS today, and consider joining the union.

He's probably just thinking about saving money, TBH.

Are you part of a union or staff association? If so I would think getting advice and support from them would be the best way forward.

For instance if based on job descriptions the work of the jobs at band 6 and band 7 are different then this would be a good place from which to start to ask questions.

Alternatively, does your work place have a personnel department, and if it does how approachable are the staff in that department.

It could be that they are relying on you being "fragile" to not make a fuss.

Although as someone who isn't in the NHS I would have thought that it wouldn't be up to individuals to decide who is on which band, but there was accepted grading.

Does your role have a national job profile? Have you checked the Job Evaluation Manual to see how your role compares?

Here's a link to an RCN page which directs you to guidance about what to do if you think you are not being paid fairly. You can request a review by a job matching panel. You can contact the RCN if you are a member but they have seriously gone down hill so it will be hit or miss as to whether you get a rep who knows what they are doing.

I was trained to sit on job matching panels years ago when AfC first came about but I'm very out of touch with it now, I do remember that using wording included in the Job Evaluation Manual was very important for having the level of work you do accurately recognised.

www.rcn.org.uk/Professional-Development/publications/pub-007206

Not much to add as I don't know the ins and outs of the NHS. But this Bit doesn't look right.

It now looks like his boss is planning on doing away with the Band 7, not changing anything else, but expecting me to do the Band 7 job as a Band 6.

Surely he can't expect you to do the work that should be grade 7 for the pay of a grade 6?

💐for the shit time you're having.

Do you have any reason to believe this is due to your sex?

Equality legislation is clear that when a man is paid more than a woman doing the same work/work of equal value (or given better benefits such as higher grade) then it is assumed to be sex discrimination.

It doesn't matter if 'he negotiated better at interview' or any other excuse. It's sex-based discrimination.

Start an email trail, framing this as a breach of Equality legislation. It sounds quite clear-cut, so although it might be scary and stressful and take a while, they will almost certainly fix it without you having to go to a tribunal. Remember that Equality legislation allows for back-pay, so if it goes past the end of your protected pay period then make sure that is included in the settlement.

It could be that they are relying on you being "fragile" to not make a fuss.

Absolutely. And also relying on your female socialisation to not make a fuss, to be afraid of what they might do. This is why the Equality legislation assumes that any pay difference is due to sex discrimination - because it pretty much always is ...even if it's unconscious bias , or taking advantage of women's lower social status and lower financial security, or even taking advantage of how we are all (men and women) socialised. It doesn't have to be a deliberate attempt to pay you less for being female (although not ignoring that possibility) And it's profoundly unfair.

profoundly unfair and illegal

Thank you for your responses, especially to #JustWaking. I will read and digest and come back again when I get time around lunch. I was so upset yesterday that I didn't come back here, I wasn't ghosting my own thread. I should clarify that my nervous breakdown was work related, due to some very similar actions on the part of my employer.

Sorry to hear that. Try not to let the bastards grind you down.

Do work know, and is it on your personnel file that the nervous breakdown was directly caused by work? Could this be considered a continuation of their behaviour that made you ill originally?

Are you in a union?

Thanks again for the input. I'm not in a union, they were as much use as a chocolate fireguard last time around.
#Justwaking - I've sent my immediate boss an email along those lines. He's very supportive, so it's just a matter of seeing how the next few days play out. Thank you for clarifying that it's not all in my head, and I don't have to "prove" that its due to my sex.
#Boiledbeetle - they are very much aware that it was work-related. Different players, so not a direct continuation, but very likely to trigger a continuation in me. (Literally trigger, not a woowoo wokey "trigger".)

Well done, LumpfishNoodle - that's fantastic It will be easier if your boss is supportive - but a word of warning: if your boss doesn't progress it within a reasonable time (a few weeks) then move onto HR.

Good luck getting it sorted