An email leaked to ITV News has shown that almost 55,000 shopfloor workers involved in a major equal pay battle with Asda may have seen a significant boost to their case.
The message, which was sent to all claimants by their legal team at Leigh Day, suggests an independent expert has compared the jobs of mainly women working on the shop floor to their predominantly male colleagues in distribution centres – scoring them across 11 factors including knowledge and responsibility.
According to the email, the study claims that shopfloor roles obtained a slightly higher average score of 453 points compared to 447 points for those in the distribution centre.
The supermarket will have to answer why the male roles are paid between £1.50 and £3 more an hour if equal value is shown when the case comes to tribunal next year.
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If they lose, they could be looking at £1.2bn in historic payouts, as well as an increased pay bill of up to £400m each year.
The GMB union – which represents many of the women – said they couldn’t comment on a leaked email.
GMB National Officer Nadine Houghton said: “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.”
Asda claimed the report was part of a complex case and was confidential. Sources suggested that average scores across 11 different skills were not how the jobs would be compared.
“It is not a ruling by the Employment Tribunal and is not a decision on the question of equal value. At Asda male and female colleagues doing the same jobs in stores are paid the same and this is equally true in our distribution centres,” a spokesperson said.
“We continue to defend these claims because retail and distribution are very different sectors, with their own distinct skill sets and rates of pay.”
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Distribution centres move larger haul, is more physically demanding. As it says, the men and women doing the same roles are paid the same. A higher paid job is not discriminatory just because men do it more.
It’s depressing how moronic our society is becoming.
U should try doin night shift in Asda shop then ull know how demanding there job I’s heavy Putin a order on a pallet in shop u take order of pallets 7000 case a night put on the shelves deal with customer and tidy non stop so don’t comment when u have no clue easy sitting on ure chair in house nonsense
In the past I’ve worked in a distribution centre in Bracknell. I now work night shift at Asda, Swindon. I would argue that the former was actually less physically demanding, as everything there was designed for us to move the goods. Electric trucks, racking, cages, everything from lighting to flooring..
At the store hardly anything is designed to make our job easier, often the opposite.
Half of pump trucks work less then optimal, on a busy night we have to share those to, as there isn’t enough.
Two years ago we had the whole shop floor changed to something softer, more shock absorbing, in case someone falls and claims against Asda. The softer floor makes pulling around the 6’9″ tall pallets full off pet food or bleach almost impossible, same with cages, most of which have broken wheels..
None of these would be pulled around using man power at the distribution centre..
Worked on checkouts at christmas. Was so exhausted the room was spinning. 30 checkouts reduced to 8 and the cashiers expected to serve the same amount of customers. Queues to the back of the store. Non stop slog to pack bags; talk to people; deal with complaints; screaming kids; rude customers; no bags; no change…the list goes on. Not saying the rest of the store doesn’t slog but – do I think women deserve equal pay? Damn right!!