Next equal pay ruling: what it means for supermarket workers
Current and former Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s store workers may be able to join claims over whether they were paid fairly for work of equal value.
If you’ve seen headlines about Next’s equal pay case, you may be wondering what it means for supermarket workers. It does not decide the separate claims against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, but it does give useful context for how retail equal pay claims are argued.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that Next was justified in paying warehouse staff a higher basic rate than store staff, even though the two roles had already been found to be of equal value.
But the finding that store and warehouse roles were of equal value still stands, some pay claims remain in the workers’ favour, Sunday premiums are still unresolved, and the basic-pay decision is expected to be appealed.
This also raises questions for people following the claims against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. Those cases are separate from Next, but they also look at whether store workers were paid fairly compared with warehouse, depot or distribution workers.
Nate Barber, a leading lawyer with Harcus Parker’s Fair Pay UK team, said:
“This is a limited decision, solely in respect of the claims against Next. That being said, the decision on hourly pay is disappointing. The Tribunal accepted Next’s argument that the higher market rate it paid to recruit and retain predominantly male warehouse workers could objectively justify the difference in basic pay, despite the store and warehouse roles having already been found to be of equal value.”
Consumer Voice is working with Harcus Parker’s Fair Pay UK team to help current and former Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s store workers understand their rights and check whether they can join supermarket equal pay claims.
What the Next pay ruling actually decided
The case centred on whether Next could pay warehouse operatives a higher basic hourly rate than store staff, even though the two roles had already been assessed as being of equal value.
Next argued it needed to pay warehouse workers more to recruit and retain them, given the market conditions in that part of its business. The appeal tribunal agreed, finding that Next’s decision to pay a higher market rate to recruit and retain warehouse staff could justify the pay gap, even where the roles were of equal value.
The appeal tribunal also rejected Next’s argument that its pay practices did not disadvantage women, while findings on night-time premiums, overtime premiums and paid rest breaks were upheld.
Barber said the basic pay finding raises a wider question:
“If the market pays more for work predominantly carried out by men, should an employer be able to rely on that same market disparity to justify paying predominantly female workers less for work of equal value? The Next claimants clearly believe not and have said they intend to appeal.”
Why the Next ruling does not decide the supermarket equal pay claims
Despite the result, lawyers representing supermarket workers say the Next decision doesn’t settle their own cases.
Barber said: “The judgment does not provide supermarkets with an automatic defence to their own equal pay claims. Whether a difference in pay can be objectively justified depends on the evidence and circumstances of the individual employer.”
The claims against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s involve different businesses, different workforces and different pay-setting practices.
This means each supermarket will have to make its own case for why any pay difference between store and distribution roles was justified. They cannot simply rely on the outcome of the Next case.
What comes next for the supermarket equal pay claims
The Next claimants have said they intend to appeal the finding on basic pay, meaning this part of the case isn’t fully settled either.
Lawyers for supermarket workers say they’ll consider the Next judgment carefully as it may be relevant context, but that it won’t change their approach to pursuing the claims against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
If you’ve worked in an hourly-paid store role at Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, you can check whether you could be affected by the supermarket equal pay claims.
