Should you get paid more for long service?

The European court of justice ruled that employers cannot lawfully pay some workers much higher salaries than others solely on the ground of long service.

The decision will have a potentially huge impact on public sector employers, including the civil service, where wide differentials based on length of service are more common than in the private sector.

In the US Walmart is trying to avoid having to pay extra to employees with a long service record by converting more of its workers to part-time work.

These moves have been unfolding in the year since Wal-Mart’s top human resources official sent the company’s board a confidential memo stating, with evident concern, that experienced employees were paid considerably more than workers with just one year on the job, while being no more productive.