Asda workers lead £8bn battle for pay equality
ASDA workers yesterday took their long-running equal pay dispute to the Supreme Court in a battle that could see supermarkets pay out £8billion.
More than 30,000 Asda store workers have brought equal pay claims after complaining that staff working in distribution depots unfairly get more money.
If the staff win the landmark case, other supermarkets could also find themselves with huge backdated pay bills.
Bosses could ultimately owe a total of £8billion compensation, it was said.
Supreme Court justices must consider whether Asda supermarket staff are entitled to compare themselves to distribution staff for equal pay purposes.
Nearly four years ago, an employment tribunal judge decided they were and that decision was upheld by Court of Appeal judges in 2019.
But Asda bosses say the roles are not comparable and want Supreme Court justices to overturn the Court of Appeal ruling.
Lord Pannick QC, who is leading Asda’s legal team, told justices that the issue was whether Asda’s retail store workers could bring equal pay claims because they were “in the same employment” as Asda’s distribution workers.
He said: “Asda submits that the answer is no. The different types of establishment operate in different geographical locations, in different industries and with different paysetting processes.”
Five justices are listed to consider the case at a virtual Supreme Court hearing over two days.
They are not expected to deliver their ruling until later in the year.
Law firm Leigh Day has been instructed by bosses at the GMB union and is representing Asda supermarket workers. Lawyer Lauren Lougheed, an employment law specialist at the law firm, said she was hopeful that supermarket staff would win the Supreme Court fight and “prove once and for all that the roles are comparable”.
An Asda spokesman said: “Our hourly rates of pay in stores are the same for male and female colleagues and this is equally true in our distribution centres.
“Retail and distribution are two different industry sectors and we pay colleagues the market rates for these sectors.
“The case is extremely complex and without precedent.”