Lawyers have hailed a “significant victory” for thousands of predominantly female store workers at Asda, after more roles were judged to be of equal value to those working in its depots, following the latest stage of the £1.2bn equal pay saga.
The tribunal in Manchester ruled over the roles of 28 “non-lead” complainants working in jobs including cashier, shop floor assistants in pharmacies, security, and on store customer service desks.
It followed a ruling last February that 12 out of 14 lead complainant roles were of equal value.
The latest tribunal found an additional 24 non-lead roles were deemed to be of “equal value” to those held by colleagues working in distribution centres and can therefore be in line to receive a portion of what could be a £1.2bn payout.
While the ruling is being hailed by unions and legal firm Leigh Day as a victory for potentially thousands more Asda workers, there was bad news for hundreds more working in the six roles that were deemed to not be of equal value.
“This is a significant and encouraging step forward for thousands of Asda workers pursuing equal pay,” said a Leigh Day spokesman.
“The tribunal has confirmed the vast majority of shop floor roles are of equal value to the higher-paid roles in distribution centres. This strongly reinforces the core case that retail workers have been undervalued for years,” they added.
Shop floor assistant (bakery and beers, wines and spirits), cashier, people clerk and administrator were the four non-lead roles assessed to not be of equal value.
“We recognise the outcome is more mixed for a small number of roles, and we understand this will be disappointing for some claimants,” the spokesman said adding that many workers may still have viable claims depending on their individual work history.
Saga could have seismic repercussions for grocery
It closes the second stage of the now 12-year-long payment dispute, with the onus now on Asda to prove it had reasonable grounds that justify why the store roles were paid less compared to roles in distribution. The final stage – known as the material factor defence – is scheduled to begin in November 2026.
With around 19,000 original claimants, the case – Brierley and others vs Asda Stores – is one of the largest employment claims ever brought in UK history, and has potentially seismic ethical and moral repercussions for pay and rewards across the grocery sector.
Its outcome will be closely watched by the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, who are also subject to similar claims against them.
Read more: Why Asda’s £1.2bn equal pay ruling could hit UK retail hard
All claims hinge on the basis that store roles, which are predominantly held by women, are generally paid less than roles in distribution and warehouses, which are predominantly held by men.
Whether a role is deemed to be of equal value was assessed on a number of factors including physical skills, problem-solving, decision-making and customer goodwill.
Asda acknowledged the result.
“A significant proportion of retail roles were not found to be of equal value to any of the depot roles,” a spokesman said.
“Those claims have now been dismissed. This case now moves to its final stage where Asda will defend the differences in pay between the remaining roles.”
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