Gender pay battle boss ‘the victim of redundancy sham’
A FORMER TalkTalk director claiming she was paid 40 per cent less than male colleagues told an employment tribunal her redundancy was a “sham”.
Rebecca Burke has brought the telecommunications giant to a hearing claiming sex discrimination and unfair dismissal.
The former programme director said her £110,000 salary was well below the pay of three male colleagues with the same job titles and responsibilities.
The tribunal heard Mrs Burke was hired by TalkTalk in 2015 to lead the £30million pilot Lightning project to install broadband in York.
After a huge data breach of customers’ details she also stepped in to run the firm’s Cyber Security Programme.
She received a £5,000 bonus for managing both programmes in the wake of the breach, which cost the company £60million and 150,000 customers.
Unequal
But she claimed she was unfairly made redundant in May 2017 by a “predetermined” decision which saw her team restructured.
Details about her colleagues’ pay emerged during a redundancy appeal and three months later Mrs Burke raised an equal pay complaint.
The 43-year-old from Yateley, Hants, said in a witness statement to the central London tribunal: “I believe that my redundancy was a sham.
“It was clear to me that the work required...was being artificially and rigidly divided in order to contrive a reason for my redundancy.
“I had not, previously to the redundancy process, appreciated that my colleagues were regarded as more senior and paid more than me.
“It certainly did not reflect what I saw as the reality of the situation.”
The tribunal heard Mrs Burke was not given the opportunity to apply for other roles at TalkTalk and that she felt bullied by the redundancy process.
Barrister Sheila Aly, representing Mrs Burke, told the tribunal: “When she was first told she wasn’t given an opportunity to give suggestions or input, her job was redundant. She should have been notified.”
The hearing was told three of Mrs Burke’s male colleagues earned 50 per cent more in bonuses during her time at the company and had the option to receive even higher ones.
Between 2018 and 2019, TalkTalk reported a mean gender pay gap of 19.1 per cent and a mean gender bonus gap of 30.7 per cent. Mrs Burke had previously appeared before a tribunal in December 2018, which was postponed.
She has been supported by a number of equal pay campaigners, including the former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie.
Ms Gracie said: “All women owe a debt of gratitude to those who are determined enough to call out unequal pay and take their cases before a judge.” The tribunal continues.