Mainly female Asda retail workers have overcome a key hurdle in their fight for equal pay after an employment tribunal ruled in their favour.
Independent experts visited branches in Skelmersdale and Wigan to compare the roles of workers on the Asda shop floor, who are mostly women, and those who work in the supermarket giant's distribution centre, who are mostly men.
The tribunal, which considered more than 20,000 pages of documents, dismissed Asda's claim that "no-one minds" if work was not done on time in the supermarket, and called the idea that there was no pressure to get the shop stocked and ready to meet customer "not plausible".
Mainly female employees of the supermarket giant are trying to receive equal pay for equal work they claim their male counterparts do.
To do this, they will need to show that their jobs, though different, are of equal value and there is no other reason except sex discrimination for unequal pay.
The purpose of the tribunal hearing was to agree on job descriptions. Once the hearings have concluded, the independent experts will decide whether the jobs are of equal value.
At the sites in Wigan and Skelmersdale, the experts looked at how jobs could compare in how equal they were. Even if they can't be rated as equivalent, the Equality Act 2010 said the jobs can be compared in terms of the demands made, skill and effort.
Those claiming for equal pay were found to have had a better outcome on some of the most important aspects of the job role, it was found, like knowledge.
Judge Ryan, sitting with Ms JK Williamson and Mr AJ Gill, concluded that Asda’s submission regarding the women’s job descriptions “did not go far enough as to acquiring and using knowledge” following assessment of this factor.
Lauren Lougheed, a solicitor at law firm Leigh Day, called this a "positive step forward in our case".
In 2019, the Court of Appeal gave the green light for Asda shop workers to compare themselves to higher-paid staff in the distribution centres - paving the way for an investigation into whether the jobs are of equal value. If they are found to be of equal value, this could lead to claim of sex discrimination.
The Stage 2 Equal Value hearing was held at Manchester Employment Tribunal sitting at Manchester Crown Court over several dates in 2019, concluding on 7 June.
The purpose of the hearing was to decide which information will be included in the job descriptions of six female retail workers, and seven male comparators working in the distribution centres.
The case will be for nearly 40,000 Asda shop floor workers.
Ms Day said: "Although we still have many stages of the case to go, we continue to rack up the victories for our clients towards their ultimate goal of achieving equal pay.”
