Senior executive won compensation for sex discrimination

A senior executive who was told she could not have a pay rise because her husband already earned “more than enough” has won compensation for sex discrimination.

It was claimed at an employment tribunal that Jiang Ping’s boss at Sheffield-based James Durrans & Sons thought, “a married woman cannot challenge her salary if her husband is a high earner”.

Her husband David Armitage, a director at the same company earned up to £270,000. Ms Ping, a senior manager, had earned £65,448 a year plus a £30,000 annual bonus but had gone part-time with a wage of £36,000.

Chris Durrans, the company’s managing director, and his brother, Nicholas, a director, were rebuked by Employment Judge Harjit Grewal for an “inherently discriminatory” approach. Mr Durrans denied making the comments, however, no other reason for not raising Ms Ping’s pay was given and the panel ordered the company to pay her £4,000.

The tribunal dismissed other claims of race, sex and marital status discrimination, as well as harassment, brought by Ms Ping.