25 Mar Equal Pay Disputes

They don’t come any bigger than the Asda landmark equal pay dispute. With a significant gender pay gap still prevalent, all employers should take note.

The Court of Appeal has agreed with an employment appeals tribunal ruling which favoured an equal pay claim against Asda. More than 7,000 mainly female workers based in Asda’s retail stores took their employer to court, claiming that they were not receiving equal pay with the depot workers – mostly male.

Asda argued that the two pay structures were distinct and could not be compared. But the courts have found that, as the employment relationships can ultimately be traced back to Asda’s executive board, there is a basis for comparison. It’s an interesting point which many businesses may like to reflect upon.

This is not the end of the story. But it does allow the next chapter to begin. A tribunal will now establish whether the work carried out by each set of employees is of equal value to Asda. If so, they’ll decide whether there are any objective grounds for the variation of pay.

#InternationalWomensDay has been trending in March bringing workplace discrimination into focus. The gender pay gap is just one aspect of this. Last year, the Office for National Statistics figures revealed it had dropped from 9.1% to 8.6% for full-time workers – its lowest rate yet. But further improvement is required.

The UK government has been introducing measures like gender pay gap reporting for larger organisations. But as it’s illegal to pay different rates based on gender, the courts can play a big part in closing the gap too. Given the scale of the Asda case, the impact will be significant whatever decision the courts reach.

More blogs here

Like our Facebook Page here