More than 60,000 Asda employees are to begin their case to the Employment Tribunal today in the largest-ever private sector equal pay claim.
The staff, who are all current or former employees of the supermarket, argue that their work is of equal value to the work of Asda’s warehouse workers.
Today’s hearing (9 September) marks the second stage of the case and considers whether certain store-based roles are of equal value to certain depot roles.
The tribunal will look at multiple jobs including checkout operators, shop floor staff and customer service desk and compare them to those in the supermarket’s warehouse, such as colleagues who operate high reach trucks and those who work in a chilled or frozen environment.
A ruling is expected in 2025. If the tribunal finds that any store-based roles are of equal value to depot roles, the case will move to the third and final stage, which will examine if there are justifiable reasons for the pay differences.
Last month, more than 3,500 current and former employees at Next won the final stage of a six-year legal battle over equal pay.
An employment tribunal ruled that Next’s store staff, who are more than 80% women, should not have been paid at lower rates than its warehouse workers. The amount of back-pay owed to the claimants could amount to more than £30m.
Lauren Lougheed, Leigh Day partner who is representing the Asda employees, said: “The equal pay team at Leigh Day is very encouraged by the huge success we experienced just last week on behalf of the many thousands of women we represent who have been fighting for equal pay at Next.
“We hope we will also be successful in the parallel claim we are bringing on behalf of more than 60,000 clients against Asda.
“If we win at this Stage 3 hearing, Asda will then have to prove that there is a genuine reason for the pay difference between store workers and warehouse workers which is not based on sex.
“Next bosses failed to do this and our clients won. We are confident that the same will be true in the Asda claim.”
An Asda spokesperson said: “We fully respect the right of current and former colleagues to bring this case, however, we strongly reject any claim that Asda’s pay rates are influenced by gender.
“There are numerous different jobs within retail and within warehouses.
“We continue to defend these claims because retail and distribution are two different industry sectors that have their own distinct skill sets and pay structures.”
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