Royal Dungannon 'Discriminated' Against Female Teacher

One of Northern Ireland's most prestigious schools has been found guilty of sex discrimination against one of its senior women teachers.

A woman head of department took the leading grammar, Royal School Dungannon to an industrial tribunal because it paid her less than other male heads of department.

She claimed it was because she was a woman and the NI Equality Commission and her teacher's union supported her case.

The tribunal has now found that the school had failed to explain the difference in pay between Pamela McMullan, Head of the Food Technology Department and the male head of the Design and Technology Department.

Mrs McMullan claimed she was engaged in the same sort of broadly similar work to three other heads of department in the school and that she was paid less than them on the grounds of her sex.

The tribunal examined the duties, volume of work and levels of responsibilities of all four teachers and took into consideration the changing advice from the Department of Education governing the award of teaching allowances.

It concluded that "Mrs McMullan's work as head of the Food Technology Department is of the same or broadly similar nature to that of the three males head of department."

The school today told UTV that it was making no comment "because the matter is still receiving legal consideration."

(BMcC/JM)