In a landmark development, Asda could be liable for a £1.2 billion payout due to an equal pay case, with significant implications for the retail sector.
- An email leaked to ITV News suggests nearly 55,000 shopfloor workers are underpaid compared to distribution colleagues.
- Evidence indicates male distribution workers earn up to £3 more per hour than female shopfloor staff.
- The case highlights gender-based pay disparities within Asda’s workforce.
- This legal battle could reshape pay structures across the supermarket industry.
An email leaked to ITV News has shed light on a potentially groundbreaking equal pay case confronting Asda, one of the UK’s prominent supermarket chains. At the heart of the case is a comparison between the wages of approximately 55,000 shopfloor workers, predominantly women, and their male counterparts in distribution centres. The leaked document suggests that men in these roles are earning between £1.50 to £3 more per hour on average.
According to the leaked email, the roles of these shopfloor workers were compared to distribution centre positions across various criteria, including knowledge and responsibility. Intriguingly, shopfloor workers scored slightly higher on average, achieving 453 points compared to the 447 scored by distribution workers. Despite this, the alleged pay gap remains.
The potential ramifications of this case are substantial. Should Asda lose, it could face a compensation bill of up to £1.2 billion. Moreover, the company could be required to raise wages by as much as £400 million annually to address these disparities.
Nadine Houghton, a GMB National Officer, has been vocal about the broader implications of this issue, stating, “The entire retail sector has been built on the structural discrimination of women. Women’s labour has been significantly undervalued and it’s about time that society wakes up.” Her remarks highlight the pervasive nature of gender-based wage disparities in retail.
Asda, however, contests these claims, with a spokesperson asserting that the company maintains gender pay parity for identical roles across both retail and distribution sectors. They argue that the roles in question exist within fundamentally different sectors, each necessitating distinct skills and justifying varied pay scales. In an attempt to mitigate backlash earlier this year, Asda had already invested £141 million towards a 10% pay increase for hourly-paid store staff, alongside bonus payments.
The outcome of this tribunal could set a precedent impacting pay equity within the entire retail industry.
