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The Fair Work Commission has accepted a female employee was paid less than her male colleagues performing the same work, in its first ruling involving an application for equal pay under the FW Act.

In doing so, however, the full bench has confirmed that equal pay orders will only be made in circumstances where a pay disparity is a "current state of affairs", and that it can't make any retrospective orders.

The chef who brought the application was employed by Peter Rowland Group Pty Ltd (PRG) from April 2021, initially on a casual basis, then as a permanent employee from May 2022.

She quit in February, after learning that three male chefs were receiving an annualised wage of $80k, when hers was just $65k...