Bulletin · Euro Weeks
The UK retailer Next has overturned a 2024 court ruling forcing it to pay its shop staff the same higher basic pay rates as its warehouse workers under equal pay rules. The chain, led by the Conservative peer Simon Wolfson, said it had ‘won a landmark victory in its ongoing equal pay litigation’. It succeeded in its appeal to the employment appeal tribunal on the key issue of basic pay.
This decision comes two years after 3,540 claimants won a six-year legal fight for equal pay, which Next then appealed. Shop workers accused Next of paying retail sales staff—predominantly female—lower hourly wages than warehouse staff, the majority of whom are male. Since the Leeds employment tribunal ruling, over 6,400 Next staff have brought equal pay claims, totaling more than 6,400 claimants. Next employs over 20,000 store staff across 458 stores in the UK and Ireland.
Next argued that it should not have to pay shop assistants and warehouse operatives the same basic pay because market conditions and working environments differ significantly. The retailer claimed it must pay a higher market rate to warehouse staff due to recruitment and retention pressures, which do not apply to store staff. It stated, ‘Employers must be able to pay what is necessary to recruit the people they need; and that doing so does not oblige them to raise the pay of other employees where there is no reason to do so.’
The law firm Leigh Day, representing Next’s store workers, described the ruling as ‘mixed’ because it rejected Next’s challenge to the tribunal’s findings on night-time pay, overtime pay, and failure to provide paid rest breaks. The appeal tribunal held that these issues remain unresolved and should be revisited by the employment tribunal.
During the original litigation (2012–2023), women made up 78% of retail sales jobs, while men made up 53% of warehouse staff. Some warehouse staff earned between 38p and £3.13 more per hour than retail sales workers, according to Leigh Day. Elizabeth George, a partner at Leigh Day, said, ‘The tribunal rejected Next’s arguments that its pay practices disadvantage women. The appeal tribunal upheld findings on night-time and overtime premiums and paid rest breaks, but the basic pay ruling is disappointing.’
Next’s legal team welcomed the judgment’s affirmation that employers can set pay rates based on market conditions, stating, ‘This judgment has come at the right time, as the UK economy desperately needs jobs. The loss of this appeal would have been a severe blow to retail employment.’ The company also argued that the ruling could disadvantage retailers operating their own warehouses compared to competitors outsourcing warehousing.
The original tribunal found no direct discrimination, noting that pay differences were purely cost-based. Next now intends to seek permission to appeal on other terms, including bonus pay for warehouse staff.
Source: The Guardian
