Following on the from equal pay claims against Asda and Sainsbury's, Tesco are now facing potentially the UK's largest ever equal pay claim. One estimate suggested that the Tesco equal pay claim could result in Tesco having to pay out in excess of £4 billion in back pay, as over 200,000 members of staff may have been underpaid, with each underpaid worker potentially entitled to up to £20,000.00 each in back pay.
Tesco Equal Pay Claim
Back in October 2016, Judge Ryan ruled in a case against Asda at Manchester Employment Tribunal, that lower paid shopfloor workers, who are predominantly women, could compare themselves to higher paid warehouse/distribution centre workers, who are mostly men. It was argued that the shopfloor workers are engaged in work of equal value. compared with the workers in the distribution centres, but earned between £1 and £3 per hour less than them. Judge Ryan's ruling was upheld by Mr Justice Kerr in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in August 2017. However, Asda have since appealed to the Court of Appeal, and the case is due to be heard in October 2018.
A similar type of equal pay case has also been brought against Sainsbury's, and the Tesco equal pay claim is now being contemplated on a similar basis, in that it is being argued that the roles of lower paid shopfloor workers, who are mostly female, can be compared with and are of equal value to the higher paid roles of warehouse/distribution centre workers, who are predominantly male. In the claim, it is contended that warehouse/distribution staff at Tesco earn from around £8.50 per hour up to in excess of £11.00 per hour, whilst the shopfloor workers earn basic pay of about £8.00 per hour, which means that a warehouse/distribution worker can potentially earn more than £5,000.00 per annum more than a shopfloor worker.
What To Do If You Think You Have An Equal Pay Claim
Should you work or have worked for Tesco, Asda, or Sainsbury's on the shopfloor, then please call us on 0333 301 0700, or complete the questionnaire on our homepage. Both female and male shopfloor workers can potentially bring claims.
