Following in quick succession of the Next case, in the largest ever private sector equal pay claim, a tribunal has confirmed that Asda’s shopfloor roles are of equal value to its warehouse roles. As broadly the shopworkers are female and the warehouse workers are predominantly male, Asda is now exposed to an equal pay claim. It is estimated to affect around 60,000 workers, if their equal pay claim is successful, this could include back pay of up to £1.2bn and an increased annual pay bill of £400m. The retailer will now need to prove that there is a non-discriminatory reason why it pays its predominantly female shop workers up to £3.74 less per hour than their male counterparts in the company’s warehouses and distribution centres.

11,000 workers have been excluded from the claim as their roles, personal shoppers and assistants in Asda’s edible grocery sections, were ruled not to be of equal value in the period under review. There are a further 127,000 staff that are not covered by the lead 14 claimants.  It is understood that the GMB union may look to apply the finding to these workers as well. 

Like Next, Asda has indicated an intention to appeal the decision on the basis that there are other ‘material factors’ at play not linked to gender which lead to the imbalance in rates of pay. It is understood that Asda has an indemnity arrangement with its former owner, the US retail giant Walmart, which will protect Asda from the total cost of the claim. 

As equal pay claims in the retail sector keep coming in, with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and the Co-op currently working their way through the tribunal system, and the upcoming increases announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget to national insurances contributions and the National Minimum Wage, the costs of engaging workers for retailers is only getting more expensive.