Hundreds of women share £12m bias payout

The health service is to pay 351 speech therapists £12m to settle one of the longest-running sex-discrimination cases in legal history.

The health service is to pay 351 speech therapists £12m to settle one of the longest-running sex-discrimination cases in legal history.

Payments of up to £70,000 each will be made in back pay to the female speech therapists, who have fought for 15 years for equality with the male-dominated professions of clinical psychology and pharmacy.

Senior NHS managers have acknowledged that the deal could cost the service millions more as the pay of the most senior therapists increases. The status of the top specialists will be raised to match that of other health professionals, allowing them to double their earnings to £60,000 a year.

It is thought that the agreement could also open the way for similar deals for midwives and physiotherapists who are claiming equal pay with colleagues in male-dominated fields. The Manufacturing Science Finance union, which has represented the speech experts, has predicted that the final cost of equality in the NHS could be as high as £100m.

Under the terms of the agreement, finalised in the past few days, some therapists could receive up to £70,000 in back pay, to compensate them for lower salaries and the "glass ceiling", which prevented them from earning as much as experts in other medical professions.

The claim was launched in 1986, but a succession of Conservative governments opposed the speech therapists' union, taking their arguments to the European Court on three occasions.

In 1997, the newly elected Labour government accepted the validity of the case, and began the long process of settling the details.

Liz Panton, a speech therapist with Newcastle City Health Trust, was delighted that the fight was finally over. "We have waited so long, it's hard to believe it's finally happened. The whole profession will be celebrating," she said.

Ms Panton argued that patients would benefit from the deal because therapists would enjoy enhanced seniority and therefore be able to command more resources. The speech specialists, who train for up to four years, work with people with a range of speech and communication difficulties, from children with cleft palates to adult stroke victims and sufferers of Parkinson's Disease.

Roger Lyons, general secretary of the MSF, said the agreement was a great victory not only for the women concerned, but also for women working in other professions.

"This is a David and Goliath story. A small group of female professionals overcame the might of an antagonistic Tory government," he said, adding that the settlement was a testament to the Government's commitment to equal pay.