Thousands of Scots supermarket workers could be in line for a share of a potential £1.2 billion payout after the biggest ever private sector equal pay claim.
A court ruling today found shopfloor roles at Asda – carried out mainly by women – are of “equal value” to the better-paid ones in the supermarket giant’s warehouses, which are predominantly filled by men.
The judgement covers checkout workers, customer service staff and shopfloor assistants.
The judges at the Manchester Employment Tribunal compared 14 shopfloor roles to 17 “comparator” roles carried out in warehouses – all of which are better paid.
It found that in 12 of the roles “equal value” was established with at least some of the “warehouse colleagues” – and in one case with all of them.
Two roles were not found to be of equal value – Personal Shopper and Shop Floor Assistant – Edible Grocery – and the GMB union is now considering the possibility of an appeal.
The case, brought by GMB and legal firm Leigh Day, centres on the fact the predominantly female retail workforce is paid up to £3.74 per hour less than the predominantly male warehouse workforce.
More than 60,000 workers joined together to accuse the company of sex discrimination after it emerged that the warehouse workers were earning up to £3.74 more per hour.
The result represents a second hurdle cleared for the workers who were successful in the case. Asda has strongly denied its pay rates are discriminatory.
Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said: “This is a historic step towards securing equal pay justice for tens of thousands of Asda workers, but it is tainted with bitter disappointment for those who now face and appeal.
“These women have been fighting for what they are owed for more than ten years and are close to ending the era of retailers systematically undervaluing women.
“It’s telling many of the roles judged to be of equal value are the traditional shop floor roles women have held in retail for so long.
“It’s a crushing blow that some roles were not considered of equal value and we will be discussing next steps, including the possibility of an appeal.
“GMB now calls on Asda to stop wasting time and money dragging this case through the courts and get round the table with us to agree a settlement.”
Lauren Lougheed, partner at Leigh Day, said: “This is a significant step for the thousands of Asda store workers who have established equal value.
“Our clients have fought for over ten years to achieve recognition of the value of their work and I am so pleased for them.
“We hope that Asda will now focus on resolving their cases quickly, rather than prolonging the process.
“Today’s ruling will of course be bitterly disappointing for our clients who work in the job roles that were not found to be of equal value.
“We believe that a strong case was put forward for these roles, and we will be discussing our next steps with those affected.
“Equal pay is a fundamental right, and this decision takes us one step closer to ensuring that the hardworking colleagues in Asda’s stores are not undervalued and are paid what they are owed.
“Our clients’ demand is clear: they want to be treated fairly. This means being paid the same as their colleagues in other parts of the business, who do work of equal value.”
An Asda spokesperson said: “We strongly reject any claim that Asda’s pay rates are discriminatory.
“Asda will continue to defend these claims at the next stage of the litigation because retail and distribution are two different industry sectors that have their own market rates and distinct pay structures.”
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