Equal Value hearing for Asda equal pay claim starts following Next win

Law firm Leigh Day represents 60,000 Asda workers in their equal pay claim. The claim was launched in 2014 arguing that shop floor workers, who are mainly women, are paid less than warehouse workers, who are mainly men, and that this is contrary to equal pay law. 

This week marks the start of the third stage of the Equal Value part of the claim, which is listed for 11 weeks. Equal pay claims go through three stages: comparability, equal value, and material factor defence. If the Asda shop floor workers win this last stage of the equal value part of the claim, they will have won two out of the three stages of the claim – that the roles are comparable and of equal value. The case would then move to the final stage of the claim where Asda would have to show that there is a reason for the pay difference between store workers and warehouse workers which is not based on sex.

Leigh Day is bringing similar equal pay claims against Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsburys and the Co-op .  

Last month Next store workers won their equal pay case after the Employment Tribunal ruled that Next failed to show that the difference in their pay rates for warehouse workers who are predominantly men, in comparison to pay rates for shop floor workers, who are overwhelmingly women, was not sex discrimination. The roles had previously been ruled as comparable and of equal value in August 2021 and May 2022, respectively. 

Leigh Day partner Lauren Lougheed 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 are very hopeful that we will also be successful in this claim we are bringing on behalf of over 60,000 clients against Asda.  

“If our clients 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 and also in the other equal pay claims we are bringing on behalf of many thousands of other supermarket store workers.”