Appeal Tribunal leaves core equal pay findings intact as Next store workers prepare further appeal

In August 2024, the Employment Tribunal in Leeds ruled that more than 3,500 store staff, who are predominantly women, were entitled to the same rates of pay as Next’s warehouse operatives for their basic hourly rate, premiums for working Sundays, nights and overtime, rest-breaks, long-service awards and other one-off rewards based on basic pay.  

Since that ruling, several thousand more Next staff have brought equal pay claims, bringing the total number of claimants involved in the litigation to more than 6,000.

Next appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Next did not appeal the Tribunal’s findings that the store workers performed work of equal value to warehouse operatives but were paid less. Those findings remain binding.  

Instead, Next challenged the Tribunal’s findings that:

• its pay practices disadvantaged women:

The Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected this challenge. It dismissed all three grounds of appeal directed at that issue.

Next also challenged the Tribunal’s findings that:

• the reasons Next relied on for the different rates of pay did not amount to a justification in law:

The Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected Next's challenge to the Tribunal's findings that it had failed to justify lower rates of night-time pay, overtime pay and the failure to provide paid rest breaks to store workers.

Next also failed to persuade the Employment Appeal Tribunal that lower Sunday premium payments to store workers were justified. The Appeal Tribunal held that the issue remains to be determined and should return to the Employment Tribunal.

For basic hourly pay, however, the Appeal Tribunal disagreed with the Tribunal’s decision. It held that Next’s need to recruit and retain warehouse staff was a good enough reason to justify paying higher basic hourly rates to warehouse workers.

Elizabeth George, partner at Leigh Day representing the claimants, said:

"I am pleased that the Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected Next's arguments that its pay practices do not disadvantage women. They plainly do and the Appeal Tribunal firmly recognised that. I am also pleased that the Tribunal upheld the findings on night-time premiums, overtime premiums and paid rest breaks.

"The Appeal Tribunal’s conclusion on basic pay is disappointing. Next pays market rates in both its stores and its warehouses in order to recruit and retain staff. The market rate is higher in the predominantly male warehouse labour market, even though the work carried out in stores has already been found to be equal work.

"If an employer need only show it pays the market rates to justify pay discrimination, the very market conditions that give rise to the discrimination then become the legal justification.  

"While the store staff and their legal team welcome many aspects of this appeal judgment, we respectfully disagree with this approach to justification.   We remain confident in our clients’ position and intend to appeal."