What were the main challenges in this case and what are the implications?
The implications are huge. Length of service-based pay schemes are used by employers across Europe, in both the public and private sectors. The Equal Opportunities Commission believes that they play an important part in the continuing gender pay gap, which stands at 17 per cent. Since 1989, there was thought to be no requirement for employers to justify the use of length of service in pay schemes, even where the scheme clearly disadvantaged women. The door was firmly shut. The ECJ’s ruling in Cadman means that the door is now ajar, and so where women can show serious doubts about whether length of service leads to better performance in their case, the employer will have to justify the pay scheme.

Bizarrely, the biggest challenge has been trying to play a part in ensuring that the complexities and technicalities of the case have been properly reported since the ECJ decision.

What was your worst day as a lawyer?
The day I went to Hythe, Essex, well prepared and in good time for a meeting that was actually in Hythe, Kent.

What was your most memorable experience as a lawyer?
Being in the Grand Chamber at the ECJ with Bernadette, her union Prospect, and her barrister Tess Gill was amazing.

Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?
In terms of who has inspired me, I have always been inspired by the stories of strong and independent women who make their own mark, such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Emily Brontë.

Why did you become a lawyer?
I was attracted by the combination of problem-solving and intellectual challenge, with the chance to make a difference to people's lives. I have been very lucky to work for a firm where the day-to-day reality of my work meets those expectations.

What would your advice be to anyone wanting a career in law?
I would always recommend it but I think choosing the direction you take within law is really important.

If you had not become a lawyer, what would you have chosen and why?
I would love to have been a plumber, because I love the sense of achievement you get from working with your hands.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
On a long holiday with my family on a beach in Brittany.

l_tsang@hotmail.com

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