An email leak to ITV News has shed new light on the equal pay battle involving Asda, potentially bolstering the case for nearly 55,000 shopfloor workers.
The legal team at Leigh Day sent the message to all claimants.
It suggests an independent expert has compared the jobs of female shopfloor workers to their male counterparts in distribution centers across 11 factors, including knowledge and responsibility.
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According to the study, shopfloor roles received a slightly higher average score of 453 points compared to 447 points for distribution center roles.
As a result, Asda may have to explain the wage gap of £1.50 to £3 per hour for male employees if the tribunal finds equal value between the roles.
If it loses the case, the supermarket chain could face historic payouts amounting to £1.2 billion and an annual increased pay bill of up to £400 million.
The GMB union, representing many female workers, refrained from commenting on the leaked email.
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GMB National Officer Nadine Houghton said: “The entire retail sector has been built on the structural discrimination of women. Women’s labour has been significantly undervalued and it’s about time that society wakes up.”
Asda responded to the leaked report, describing the case as complex and confidential.
The supermarket’s sources argued that comparing average scores across 11 different skills may not be an appropriate approach for evaluating job roles.
A spokesperson said: “It is not a ruling by the Employment Tribunal and is not a decision on the question of equal value. At Asda male and female colleagues doing the same jobs in stores are paid the same and this is equally true in our distribution centres.
“We continue to defend these claims because retail and distribution are very different sectors, with their own distinct skill sets and rates of pay.”
