ASDA - the Supreme Court equal pay claim

[saddler]

Am I the only one not getting this..?

I can understand that folk of the same job title get the same rate of pay, irrespective of gender.
Ditto for all folk in the same workplace - you are in the employ of the same firm, so there should be no gender based difference in pay across whatever grade/role folk are doing at that firm.

Todays ruling seems to be a big departure from this.
The ASDA industrial/warehousing staff are on more money than the employees in the ASDA shop/store, as the firm said it was not the same job role.
Not according to the Supreme Court, who now say that it IS the same role and involves the same amount of skill...so, shop staff should earn warehouse staff wages!
Having seen the level of inactivity from some of the ASDA Store staff, and having worked both in shops AND several warehouses, I can say that the roles are massively different...I doubt 5% of the store employees would last a week in an actual ASDA warehouse role, yet they have now been told "it's the same job"

I know one chap on here WAS in a Warehouse role for Asda, so can likely add some insight - but this ruling seems NUTS & could be setting a dangerous precedent for other sectors

[Lloyd90]

If the ASDA store staff don’t like their jobs then re-train / do something else. 
All I can see this resulting in is their job role changing which they will then moan about, or a reduction in pay for warehouse staff. 

See so many people complain about their jobs but they don’t put in any work to better their own position. 
 

Just sit back and complain they are hard done by. 
 

 

I know people like that, 5 years later they’re still in the same job, still complaining about the same old rubbish pay and conditions. 
 

Got other mates who’ve knuckled down and like myself 5 years later are leagues ahead of where we used to be. 
 

Some people just seem to have that mindset. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, when tesco built a large warehouse in the Vale it was good  money for anyone employed by tesco until the influx of foreign nationals a few years back all now on temporary contracts and half the money, making up with overtime and weekend working, as for the post I do not agree, Asda shop workers and warehouse workers are not the same and should be paid accordingly, 

[gdadphil]

Hi All

This is all to do with equal pay

It started over 10years ago in local govt with refuse collectors being compared with dinner ladies pay rates were the same but bonuses not.

This caused LA's over £100M in back pay

For he Supreme Court to have given this decision there must have been some real deep analysis of the agreed constituent parts of the various roles to show that (given each role duty would be ascribed a points value) the roles were of "equal value" to the employer. 

if you are interested in the detail this is a useful and fairly easy to follow link  https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/emp-law/equal-pay

Cheers

gdadphil

[The Heron]

At the end of all the court proceedings should the judgement be made in favour of the award of equal pay and an award for back pay totaling millions of pounds there will be a huge reduction in the amount of staff employed this is coming anyway with the introduction of the technology to do away with tills what should have been done was in previous years negotiations should have taken place to bring the difference closer but gradually 

[paulinlincs]

I am 100% in favour of equal pay doing the same job. But I fail to see how warehouse work is the same as shop work. My CEO earns more than me yet we work for the same company and both manage staff and make decisions so could I take the company to court? 

I shall let you know what my pair of Boss shotguns are like once I get my back pay. 

[Vince Green]

It was explained that men and women at the warehouse are paid a different rate to men and women working in the stores 

However, this has been engineered into a gender based dispute by saying that men in the warehouse are paid more than women who work in the stores.

The work, apparently, is very different, in the warehouse its very physical. Each worker is required to manually handle approx 14 tons of groceries per shift. Making up and loading deliveries to go to the stores

No doubt some no win no fee solicitors stand to make millions if they can pull it off

[humperdingle]

2 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

It was explained that men and women at the warehouse are paid a different rate to men and women working in the stores 

However, this has been engineered into a gender based dispute by saying that men in the warehouse are paid more than women who work in the stores.

The work, apparently, is very different, in the warehouse its very physical. Each worker is required to manually handle approx 14 tons of groceries per shift. Making up and loading deliveries to go to the stores

No doubt some no win no fee solicitors stand to make millions if they can pull it off

But since when has heavy, manual labour equalled higher wages?

 

I have a heavy job and get not much more than minimum wage, whilst the missus sits at a PC all day and gets paid five times as much as me.

 

Yes, I could retrain and get a better paid job but the added stress on my poor old brain wouldn’t take it

[Vince Green]

7 minutes ago, humperdingle said:

But since when has heavy, manual labour equalled higher wages?

 

I have a heavy job and get not much more than minimum wage, whilst the missus sits at a PC all day and gets paid five times as much as me.

 

Yes, I could retrain and get a better paid job but the added stress on my poor old brain wouldn’t take it

Market forces?,

if they can't keep staff?

I imagine they wouldn't be paying more if they didn't feel they had to 

Also, this case in the Supreme Court was not a verdict, they were only given leave to take the case to be heard  

Edited March 27, 2021 by Vince Green

[enfieldspares]

Asda is Walmart. Rapacious, poor treatment of employees, importer of Chinese made rubbish by the ship load.

But be that as it may I recall that back in 2019 or so store staff were told to accept new contract terms, with lower pay, or be made redundant?

See below. So karma. What goes around comes around. Or maybe the store workers had this new contract and warehouse staff didn't?

https://eachother.org.uk/asda-workers-threatened-with-sack/

Edited March 27, 2021 by enfieldspares

[old man]

22 hours ago, enfieldspares said:

Asda is Walmart. Rapacious, poor treatment of employees, importer of Chinese made rubbish by the ship load.

But be that as it may I recall that back in 2019 or so store staff were told to accept new contract terms, with lower pay, or be made redundant?

See below. So karma. What goes around comes around. Or maybe the store workers had this new contract and warehouse staff didn't?

https://eachother.org.uk/asda-workers-threatened-with-sack/

Not sure that's true now, new owners?

Nicely palmed off by Walmart?

[ShootingEgg]

The shop staff who do the picking for home delivery definitely dont understand use by dates or that bread at tge bottom of the crate under 4 pints of milk and other cans etc. 

So equal pay would be fine if they do the job right 

[enfieldspares]

As OLD MAN says now owned by the Issa brothers. Well I hope they did "due diligence" and have an indemnity from Walmart if the claim goes further and is upheld.

[Vince Green]

When the Equality Act came in 2010 somebody made a comment that it wouldn't raise women's wages it would only lower men's. I can see little reason to believe that prophesy wasn't correct.