Asda's Equal Value Case Update

The Supreme Court has ruled on the first stage of Asda’s Equal Value case and decided the roles of store-based workers can be compared to distribution centres roles for the purposes of an equal value assessment. Asda’s response to this ruling is below:

An Asda spokesperson said:

“This ruling relates to one stage of a complex case that is likely to take several years to reach a conclusion. We are defending these claims because the pay in our stores and distribution centres is the same for colleagues doing the same jobs regardless of their gender. Retail and distribution are very different sectors with their own distinct skill sets and pay rates. Asda has always paid colleagues the market rate in these sectors and we remain confident in our case.”

Please note today’s ruling only relates to Stage One of the Equal Value process and is not the conclusion of the case. The second stage of the process will now consider whether store and distribution roles are of ‘equal value’. This could potentially be followed by a third stage in the process that would consider if there are any factors other than gender why the roles should not be paid equally.