Asda employees’ equal pay tribunal could open way for more claims

Thousands of Asda employees have won a major victory in their battle for equal pay after taking their employer to a tribunal.

Women staff working in Asda stores have fought a long campaign just to establish that their roles are comparable to male distribution centre staff, who receive higher pay. As reported by the Law Gazette, the tribunal in Manchester agreed with the claimants. London firm Leigh Day, which represented the women, has said that the ruling could enable 7,000 more Asda employees to proceed with their own pay claims against the retailer. Leigh Day said that it is representing many current and former Asda employees, the majority women, who feel that they have been paid less than other roles receive despite doing a job of equal value. Meanwhile, the firm is also bringing a claim on behalf of 400 Sainsburys employees in a similar situation.

Asda remains strongly opposed to all such claims and has pointed out that the tribunal ruling is on a technical matter, which does not determine the eventual outcome of the case. In a statement, it said: “We believe that the demands of the jobs are very different and are considering our options for appeal.”