Independent Expert

Acas is required under regulations set out in the Equality Act 2010 to maintain a panel of Independent Experts. A judge at an Employment Tribunal will decide if services of an Independent Expert (IE) are required and will request Acas to provide such an expert(s) from the panel. Independent experts assist the judge to resolve equal value disputes. In cases involving small numbers of claimants, the IE will work alone, but in cases involving multiple claimants and comparators, generally work is carried out with other independent experts. The role of the IE is to compare two or more completely different jobs specified in the case and assess whether they are of equal value and to provide the reasons for these conclusions, avoiding discrimination. When the IEs are appointed to a case, they assess the jobs in question against factors such as skills, physical effort, and decision making and produce a report stating whether the jobs are of equal value. This report is sent to the employment tribunal and all parties involved in the case. Once the independent expert has produced their report, they may be cross examined at the employment tribunal by the parties’ legal representatives if they feel that the independent expert has come to the wrong conclusion. The employment tribunal decides whether to accept the independent expert’s report and whether the jobs being compared are of equal value or not. Important This is not an employment contract with Acas. Independent Experts are engaged on a fee-paid, case-by-case basis and are not employees or workers of Acas. Work is offered on a case-by-case basis and may be infrequent or irregular. The main Accountabilities of an Independent Expert are: Writing reasoned reports on the question of whether one person’s work is of equal value to another Using Job evaluation techniques in a non-discriminatory manner Attend equal value hearings either in person or virtually as the employment tribunal requires Answer questions on the report both in writing and on the witness stand If you wish to apply for this role, you will be assessed on the following – Experience Essential Criteria: Demonstrable experience in Job evaluation (Lead criterion) In depth knowledge of UK equal pay employment law & relevant cases Excellent writing skills for writing formal evidenced based reports Ability to build relationships for joint problem solving Using Microsoft 365 – word and excel Desirable Criteria – the following will be assessed in the event of a tie-breaker scenario at sift or interview: Knowledge of Employment Tribunal processes41bf1e1f-b16b-4260-a40a-17c77a06fd15…