The case, brought by GMB and Leigh Day, is centred on the fact the predominantly female retail workforce is paid up to £3.74 per hour less than the predominantly male warehouse workforce.
While 12 roles including checkout operator, various shop floor assistant positions and section leader were found to be of equal value to at least one of distribution centre jobs they were compared to, two roles were not found to be of equal value - personal shopper and edible grocery shop floor assistant.
GMB and lawyers are considering the possibility of an appeal, with 11,000 people employed in the roles singled out by the Employment Tribunal.
The claim will now move onto stage three, during which Asda will be asked to provide a reason for the difference in pay that is not related to gender.
If Asda is found to have been in breach of equal pay laws, the retailer could be required to make a payout worth £1.2bn.
‘Historic step’
The claim was first launched in 2014, with GMB national officer Nadine Houghton describing the Employment Tribunal ruling as a “historic step towards securing equal pay justice” for the Asda employees.
“These women have been fighting for what they are owed for more than ten years and are close to ending the era of retailers systematically undervaluing women,” Houghton added.
“It’s telling many of the roles judged to be of equal value are the traditional shop floor roles women have held in retail for so long. It’s a crushing blow that some roles were not considered of equal value and we will be discussing next steps, including the possibility of an appeal.
“GMB now calls on Asda to stop wasting time and money dragging this case through the courts and get round the table with us to agree a settlement.”
Lauren Lougheed, partner at law firm Leigh Day, welcomed the news and urged Asda to resolve the cases quickly.
“Our clients have fought for over ten years to achieve recognition of the value of their work and I am so pleased for them” Lougheed said.
“Today’s ruling will of course be bitterly disappointing for our clients who work in the job roles that were not found to be of equal value. We believe that a strong case was put forward for these roles, and we will be discussing our next steps with those affected.
“Equal pay is a fundamental right, and this decision takes us one step closer to ensuring that the hardworking colleagues in Asda’s stores are not undervalued and are paid what they are owed. Our clients’ demand is clear: they want to be treated fairly. This means being paid the same as their colleagues in other parts of the business, who do work of equal value.”
‘Asda rejects claims’
Heading into stage three, Asda said that it strongly believes there are justifiable reasons for the differences in pay.
“We strongly reject any claim that Asda’s pay rates are discriminatory,” an Asda spokesperson added.
“Asda will continue to defend these claims at the next stage of the litigation because retail and distribution are two different industry sectors that have their own market rates and distinct pay structures.”
