Tesco Action Group, a group which consist of more than 80,000 current and former Tesco employees, are bringing an equal pay claim against the UK’s largest retailer and supermarket Tesco. The claim relies on the pay differences of £3 per hour between in-store workers, who are mostly women; and warehouse workers, the majority of whom are men.
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The Tesco Action Group specifically claims the right to equal pay and equal contractual terms in s66(1) of the Equality Act 2010, which says that when men and women are doing equal work, they have the right to receive equal pay for it.
All Tesco’s current and former staff—both male and female—whether a part of a trade union or not, who did not leave their employment with Tesco more than 6 years ago (5 years ago if they live in Scotland) are entitled to join the claim as long as they registered to the Equal Pay Action’s website.
Tesco’s current staff can also join the claim without being afraid they will lose their job. Tesco has confirmed in writing that it will not subject anyone who brings an equal pay claim to adverse treatment.
If the claim is successful, this will be a huge step towards eradicating inequality in the workplace. Hephzi Pemberton, CEO of Equality Group, argues, ‘it is crucial that companies realise the damage [unequal gender pay] does to our economic and social relations…unequal pay is inexcusable.’ It is a shame that this is happening in 21st century Britain. The Equal Pay Act in 1970 attempted to solve these issues but the Equality Act 2010 has replaced this and now, it is society’s responsibility to implement this positive policy.
The main question that will be raised is whether a Tesco in-store worker performs ‘equal work’ as a Tesco warehouse worker. Tesco defended the claim by arguing that there are ‘fundamental differences’ between the two jobs. The company argued, ‘these differences, in skills and demands, as well as the different markets in which they operate, do lead to variations in rates of pay between stores and distribution centres - but these are not in any way related to gender’.
However, Emily Fernando of Harcus Sinclair UK Ltd disagreed and stated that ‘the work can be different but still equal’ due to the demands in terms of effort, skill and decision-making that it makes on the worker.
All of the UK’s other major supermarkets are also facing pay disputes. In January 2019, the Court of Appeal ruled that the roles of the shop floor workers could be compared to the roles of those in the distribution centres in Asda for the purposes of equal pay. Asda will head to the Supreme Court, for a final appeal - after having lost three times in the lower courts.
In the event that Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, and the Co-Op lose their cases, it is estimated that the total compensation bill could reach £8bn and provoke people in other areas to take similar actions.
By Zania Putri - LLB Global Law
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