Asda reignites ‘equal value’ row with pay offer to warehouse staff

Earlier this month, Asda’s store staff, who are mostly women, were awarded a 3.6% increase in their hourly pay to £9.66. 

Warehouse workers, predominantly men, are still negotiating their pay rise and rejected an increase that would have taken their hourly rate to £11.98. 

The GMB Scotland union has hit out at the disparity in pay between the shopfloor and warehouse workers, saying it will widen the gender pay gap that has been at the heart of a long-running legal battle. 

Lawyers at Leigh Day argue the work carried out by Asda’s store staff and warehouse workers is of “equal value”, meaning retail and distribution jobs should be paid the same hourly rate. 

In March last year, the Supreme Court ruled that 40,000 shopfloor staff could be compared to colleagues in distribution centres and would therefore be entitled to equal pay.

That was the latest twist in a saga that dates back to 2016 and is likely to have many years to run.

The result could cost Asda more than £500m in back pay and have significant implications for other retailers in the UK.   

GMB Scotland organiser Robert Deavy said: “Asda retail staff are being exploited and undervalued every hour of every working day. Tens of thousands of working women are being paid less than a tenner an hour for their basic rate of pay ­– up to £3 an hour less than their male equivalents in distribution.

“Asda needs to value their workers properly with a pay increase that tackles soaring inflation and they need to take full responsibility for their chronic sex discrimination by settling their equal pay liabilities, which could easily run into billions of pounds.”

An Asda spokesman said: “Retail and distribution are separate and distinct market sectors and the demands of jobs in stores and depots are very different.

“We pay colleagues the market rate in each sector regardless of gender.”

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