A court ruling on Wednesday (October 24) means workers can now seek compensation for lost earnings. Susan Clare was one of the batch of workers, mainly women, who won a ruling over lower pay from Birmingham City Council. The 51-year-old was a full-time care assistant, earning about £900 a month before leaving in 2011. She said: “I think it's awful that we weren’t put in that position where we could have been earning the same as a man collecting rubbish.”