Over 3,500 current and former Next employees have won a huge battle in their fight for equal pay.
This week, an employment tribunal ruled that Next store staff should have been paid the same rate as Next warehouse employees. As a result of the ruling, the underpaid workers – who are predominantly women – could now be due more than £30 million in backpay.
While over 80% of Next’s store staff are women, the tribunal agreed that the pay difference between the jobs wasn’t due to “direct discrimination”, but was instead driven by attempts to “cut costs and increase profits.” However, because of Next’s actions, thousands of store workers were not paid a fair wage and could be due thousands of pounds in compensation each.
While Next said it will appeal the decision, this is a big win for affected shop workers. Legal experts believe the ruling is also good news for supermarket employees across the UK fighting similar claims for equal pay.
Are the Supermarkets next?
Several major supermarkets, including Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco, are facing similar legal challenges over equal pay.
These supermarkets are all using the same legal arguments as Next to justify paying warehouse staff more than store staff. So, the Next ruling is good news for potentially tens of thousands of retail workers across the country.
You might have an equal pay claim if you’ve worked at any of these supermarkets. If you’ve worked at multiple stores, you could have multiple claims.
The compensation from successful equal pay claims can be substantial. Some workers have received thousands of pounds in backpay. If you have multiple claims, your total compensation could be even higher.
Can you make a supermarket equal pay compensation claim?
Want to join the battle for equal pay? If you are currently employed as a store worker at any of the following supermarkets and are paid an hourly rate, or have been in the last six years, you could have a no-win, no-fee compensation claim.
The action is open to both male and female store workers.
Try our simple eligibility checker to find out if you have a claim. It will only take a few minutes and there’s no obligation to proceed.
