The Manchester Employment Tribunal has agreed that several Asda shop worker roles, predominantly carried out by women, are equal in value to some jobs done by its higher-paid, largely male-dominated warehouse staff.

The claim, which first launched in 2014, says that the supermarket retailer's female retail workforce is paid up to £3.74 per hour less than men at its distribution centres.

Trade union GMB, which brought the case alongside solicitors Leigh Day, claims that the move represents the biggest private sector equal pay claim in history, involving at least 60,000 Asda supermarket workers.

The Tribunal decided that two of the roles, personal shopper and edible grocery, were not equal to the warehouse roles. These roles represent 20 per cent or 11,000 of all claimants.

If Asda is unable to demonstrate justifiable reasons for the pay differences linked to roles that are deemed equal in the next stage of the claim, claimants could be entitled to share of a £1.2 billion payout.

“We strongly reject any claim that Asda’s pay rates are discriminatory," said an Asda spokesperson. "Asda will continue to defend these claims at the next stage of the litigation because retail and distribution are two different industry sectors that have their own market rates and distinct pay structures.”

The move comes after more than 150 members of parliament wrote to Asda's executives last September urging the supermarket to end pay discrimination against its workers.

GMB's national officer Nadine Houghton said that while the court ruling marks a historic step towards securing equal pay justice for tens of thousands of Asda workers, it is "tainted with bitter disappointment for those who now face an appeal".

"These women have been fighting for what they are owed for more than ten years and are close to ending the era of retailers systematically undervaluing women," continued Houghton. “It’s telling many of the roles judged to be of equal value are the traditional shop floor roles women have held in retail for so long.

"It’s a crushing blow that some roles were not considered of equal value and we will be discussing next steps, including the possibility of an appeal."

In August 2024, over 3,500 current and former shop workers at UK retailer Next emerged victorious in a six-year legal battle for equal pay.

An employment tribunal ruled that Next failed to demonstrate that paying its predominantly female sales staff lower hourly wages than its majority-male warehouse workers was not the result of gender-based discrimination.

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