13BInterpretation

1. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   affected employee means an employee who performs work that is the same as, or substantially similar to, the work performed by another employee of the same employer, if a pay equity claim has been raised with the employer in respect of that work (whether by an employee or by 1 or more unions)

   appropriate comparator means a comparator selected by parties to a pay equity bargaining process in accordance with section 13ZE for use as a comparator in the assessment of a pay equity claim under section 13ZD

   claimant means—

   1. an individual employee who raises a pay equity claim:
   2. a union that raises a pay equity claim on behalf of the members of that union:
   3. multiple unions that jointly raise a pay equity claim on behalf of the members of each union, or that pursue a pay equity claim that is consolidated in accordance with section 13M

   covered by a pay equity claim settlement, in relation to an employee, means the employee—

   1. is the claimant who raised the pay equity claim to which the settlement relates; or
   2. in the case of a claim raised by 1 or more unions, was covered by the union-raised claim at the time that the claim was settled; or
   3. has accepted an offer of the benefit of the pay equity claim settlement made under section 13ZL(2), (4), or (5)

   covered by a union-raised claim, in relation to an employee, means the employee—

   1. is covered by a claim raised by 1 or more unions in accordance with section 13W; and
   2. has not opted out under section 13Y

   employer means an employer in relation to whom a pay equity claim has been raised

   multi-employer pay equity claim means a claim raised by 1 or more unions with multiple employers (including a claim raised with multiple employers to which section 13K applies and a claim raised with multiple employers that is consolidated in accordance with section 13N)

   party, in relation to a pay equity claim, means—

   1. the claimant:
   2. the employer (or each employer, in the case of a multi-employer pay equity claim)

   union—

   1. means a union registered under Part 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2000; and
   2. if 2 or more unions are joint claimants (whether because they jointly raised a pay equity claim or subsequently consolidated their pay equity claims), means those unions jointly.