You can ask your employer questions about its pay policies and the pay awarded to male colleagues. The Acas guidance Asking and responding to questions of discrimination in the workplace (PDF, 165KB) encourages potential claimants to ask questions of their employer before deciding whether to issue tribunal proceedings based on discrimination. It includes a 'questioner’s template' to guide you with your choice of questions.

In an equal pay claim, Acas suggests a three-step process:

1. Identify your comparator.
2. Explain how they are doing equal work to you.
3. Ask further relevant pay-related questions, such as how pay is determined by the employer and what there is in the comparator’s job description that could explain the difference in pay.