You might have been following the news stories about the Asda shop workers, especially if you’re a woman who’s paid less than your male colleagues who do an equivalent job.
The supermarket’s retail staff are mostly women. Staff who work in the chain’s depots / warehouse distribution centres are predominantly male, and are paid £1.50-£3 an hour more than shop workers.
In 2016, the employment tribunal looked back over pay levels since 2002, and ruled that the two types of work were comparable. After a series of appeals, the Supreme Court has recently agreed. This is the UK’s highest court, and their decision is final.
This is the biggest-ever equal pay claim in the UK private sector. With over 44,000 Asda shop workers, the ruling could lead to a £500m compensation claim.
Asda is owned by Walmart, but (subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority) will soon be taken over by the London-based private equity firm, TDR Capital, and billionaire brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa. This consortium will have to foot the bill.
Next step
The next step is for the employment tribunal to determine whether particular store and distribution roles are of ‘equal value’. There might then be a third stage to consider whether a reason other than gender determines why the roles should not be paid equally. The case is likely to take several years to reach a conclusion.
A spokesperson from Asda said: “Asda has always paid colleagues the market rate in these sectors and we remain confident in our case.”
What this means to you
Asda’s long-running court battle has implications for other supermarket workers. About 8,000 staff at Tesco, Sainsbury, Co-op and Morrisons are also going through equal pay disputes. If all five supermarkets lose, they could have to pay backdated claims totalling £8bn.
We act for employees in equal pay claims. Do you work in a major supermarket? Are you a woman paid less than male colleagues doing an equivalent job? Give us a call, and we’ll let you know if you might have a case.
Related reading
If this topic is relevant to you, you might find our other articles useful:
Need help?
For a FREE assessment of your case, call 0808 168 7288 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.
We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.
You have a choice of ways to pay, including ‘no win, no fee’.