Asda workers win first stage of equal pay claim

The Court of Appeal has ruled against the supermarket Asda in a long-running case which could have major implications for equal pay.

The Court ruled that staff who work in-store at Asda who are mainly women can compare their job with the jobs of their colleagues working in the company’s distribution centres who are mainly men.

The ruling is the first stage in a three-stage equal pay claim which has huge implications for workers.

The case and other similar ones of supermarket workers has been taken up by the law firm Leigh Day. It says it is not arguing that store workers do the same job as warehouse workers but that their different jobs are of equal value to Asda.

This decision by the Court means that in law these different jobs can be compared with each other. The next stage is for the courts to decide if the jobs are of equal value and the last stage is to rule whether, if they are, is there a reason other than sex discrimination that means the roles should not be paid equally.

Leigh Day says tens of thousands of store workers, men and women,  have signed up to their legal action.

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