Leigh Day, the law firm representing more than 330 Next shop staff in a dispute over pay with warehouse colleagues, has accused the retailer of destroying paperwork related to the case in a direct breach of an order by the employment tribunal to keep the documents safe. 

A hearing is set for January 12 where the tribunal will hear what happened to the documents and decide whether Next should face any penalty. Leigh Day said the retailer may face a ‘strike-out order’, which would bar it from defending itself against equal pay claims, according to The Guardian.   

The row over the documents stems from a claim being made by a group of predominantly female Next shop staff who claim their work is no less demanding than that done by predominantly male warehouse staff, who earn on average between £2 and £6 more an hour.