Leading article: Part-time parity

The employment of part-time lecturers in universities on a lower rate of pay than full-timers has been going on for years. It is to be hoped that the case of Susan Birch at Leeds Metropolitan University puts a stop to that. She clearly showed an employment tribunal that she was doing work that carried the same responsibility as her full-time colleagues. The tribunal agreed that she could be compared with them. Leeds Metropolitan University may be technically correct in arguing that this is not a test case because Ms Birch settled. But there is no doubt that she, and her union, expected a victory. Universities around the country should heed the lessons of this case and treat part-timers fairly.