Equal pay row | Bosses reacted badly to woman challenging male colleague's higher salary

A lawyer who was sacked after complaining that she was paid less than her male colleagues has won more than £150,000 at an employment tribunal.

According to documents published on Gov.uk, solicitor Helena Biggs successfully sued insurance firm A Bilborough and Company, for sexual discrimination in 2020. Only now has she been awarded damages, but the large payout has put the case, and its core issue of gender discrimination, back in the spotlight.

The tribunal found that 47-year-old Biggs had worked at the firm since 2003. In 2010 she was promoted in 2010 to Associate Director at the company – where she worked as a claims executive.

Three years into the role, she discovered that a male co-worker in a similar role to her was being paid £2,000 a year more than she was. However, despite finding this “particularly upsetting”, Biggs did not raise the issue until 2015 with her manager Steve Roberts.