Asda equal pay fight goes to Supreme Court
● More than 30,000 workers bring claims over distribution depots
Asda bosses have begun a Supreme Court equal pay fight with supermarket workers.
More than 30,000 Asda store workers, most of whom are women, have brought equal pay claims after complaining that staff working in distribution depots unfairly get more money.
Five Supreme Court justices yesterday began to consider whether Asda supermarket staff were entitled to compare themselves to distribution staff for equal pay purposes.
Nearly four years ago, an Employment Tribunal judge decided that supermarket staff were entitled to compare themselves.
That decision was upheld by Court of Appeal judges in 2019.
Asda bosses say the roles are not comparable and want Supreme Court justices to overturn the ruling by Court of Appeal judges.
Lord Pannick QC, who is leading Asda’s legal team, told justices that the issue was whether Asda’s hourly-paid retail store workers could bring equal pay claims because they were “in the same employment” as Asda’s hourly-paid distribution workers.
“Asda submits that the answer is no,” he said, in a written case outline.
“Under domestic legislation, a claimant in an equal pay case may not compare her work and her pay with that of another employee who is employed, even by the same employer, in a different establishment unless the terms of those doing the claimant’s work are common irrespective of the establishment, or type of establishment, at which they work, and the terms of those doing the comparator’s work are common irrespective of the establishment, or type of establishment, at which they work.”
He said terms of working conditions depended on the type of establishment at which people worked and added: “The different types of establishment operate in different geographical locations, in different industries and with different pay-setting processes.”
Lawyers say if store staff win they could be entitled to several years’ back pay.
They say the fight will have implications across the industry and might lead to supermarkets paying out around £8 billion.
Justices are considering rival arguments at a virtual Supreme Court hearing due to end today.
Law firm Leigh Day has been instructed by bosses at the GMB union and is representing Asda supermarket workers. A Leigh Day spokeswoman said if the Asda supermarket staff won, 500,000 would be eligible across the industry to make a claim, which could cost major supermarkets £8bn.