Equal Pay
Richard Thomas predicts we will see a series of employment tribunal decisions in cases on the issue of equal pay which will involve Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury. The claims are being brought by groups of predominately female shop works who claim they are being paid less than predominately male warehouse staff, despite carrying out a similar role.
He says: “These decisions may well be subject to appeal by the losing party, but they will provide some interesting points on the issue of equal pay and could lead to more claims being brought against private sector employers.”
And he predicts the consequences could be substantial for other employers: “Previously, equal pay claims have been brought successfully against public sector employers, such as local councils. However, combined with the requirement for all employers employing more than 250 employees to report annually on their gender pay gap statistics, a victory for the claimants in the equal pay claims could open the door to many more claims being brought against private sector employers.”
