6 Major Retailers Facing Equal Pay Lawsuits During International Women’s Month

Six of the nation’s leading retailers are facing equal pay legal battles alleging they’ve been unfairly paying certain workers — predominantly female staff — less for years.

Grocers and retail giants Asda, Tesco, Next, Sainsbury’s, Co-op and Morrison’s are each facing equal pay claims from their employees, with many of the lawsuits seeking back pay which could see the retailers forking out billions.

While the lawsuits aren’t specifically asking for more money for female staff, many of them allege the companies paid less for roles that are predominantly held by women. 

The legal battles are happening as the world takes a closer look at the wage gap during International Women’s Month. Equal Pay Day is March 24, this year, with the date symbolising how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. 

Here’s a closer look at the equal pay cases.

Asda

Supermarket chain Asda is currently involved in the biggest-ever equal pay claim in the private sector in the UK, brought by about 35,000 of its mostly-female checkout staff.

The retail workers have filed claims asking to be paid the same as the predominantly male staff who work in the chain’s distribution depots, who receive a higher wage. 

However, Asda is fighting the claim in the supreme court, disputing earlier court rulings finding the work of retail employees comparable to the work of higher-paid depot staff.

The claims were first brought to an employment tribunal in 2014, and the dispute is seen as a landmark case. The outcome will have repercussions for other supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op and Morrisons, who are also engaged in equal pay disputes with their employers.

If the workers are successful, they are seeking six years of backdated pay, the Guardian reported. Despite recently selling Asda, its former owner Walmart may still have to foot the bill.

Tesco

Similar to Asda, Tesco is currently fighting an equal pay claim that says its predominantly-female store workers are being paid up to £3 less per hour than its mostly-male warehouse and distribution centre workers.

The Tesco workers say their work is of equal value to that of their colleagues working in distribution centres and so they should be paid the same. Tesco has been asked by a court to hand over details of its staff’s pay, Retail Gazette reported.

The lawsuit claims thousands of current and former workers could be entitled to back pay worth up to £10,000 each, which could see Tesco forced to pay out more than £2.5 billion.

Co-op

In Jan. 2020, more than 400 Co-op shop workers, mostly women, launched an equal pay claim against the supermarket chain, the BBC reported.

Like the other lawsuits, the employees allege they are being underpaid compared with warehouse workers, who are mostly men. They are asking for up to six years of backpay. 

The Co-op told the BBC it was “confident that our reward practices are fair”.

Next

A group of Next shop workers, who are mostly women, argue their work is no less demanding than that of their male colleagues in the warehouses who, on average, earn between £2 and £6 more per hour, the Guardian reports.

A claim representing 330 staff members has been filed in an employment tribunal. 

In Oct. 2020, the retailer was accused by lawyers for the plaintiff Leigh Day of destroying key documents ahead of the case. Next denies this. 

If the claim is successful, the workers bringing the claim could be entitled to up to six years’ worth of backpay.

Sainsbury’s

Thousands of Sainsbury’s store workers are also being represented by Leigh Day and are asking to be put on an equal footing with their colleagues.

Despite working on the shop floor and interacting with customers, shop workers are still allegedly paid less than their co-workers in warehouse and distribution centres.

Morrison’s

Morrison’s is also facing an equal pay compensation claim worth a potential £100 million. 

Its shop floor workers are alleging they have been paid at least £2 per hour less than the distribution centre workers since about 2013.

Have you experienced equal pay discrimination from your employer? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

More Redundancies Expected: Know Your Rights

Boohoo Denies Forced Labour Accusations as Investigation Looms

Textile Shop Workers Reportedly Underpaid by Millions of Pounds

Quiz Investigates Claims Supplier Paid Employees Only £3 an Hour