Tesco staff win legal argument against employer in European Court of Justice
Thousands of current and ex-Tesco workers won a legal argument in the European Court of Justice today, in a fight they argue centres on equal pay.
The court today ruled that employees working in stores can compare their roles to colleagues working in distribution centres for the purpose of equal pay.
Mostly female supermarket shop floor workers represented by law firm Leigh Day claim they are unfairly paid in comparison to distribution centres colleagues – most of whom are men.
They argued that as a result Tesco breached EU and UK laws.
Before the UK left the EU, the European Court of Justice was asked whether part of European law could be relied upon by people in the UK making equal value claims against their employer.
Under EU law, a woman can compare their role to that of a man’s working in a different establishment if a ‘single source’ has the power to correct the difference in pay.
In its ruling today, the European court said: “Where such pay conditions can be attributed to a single source, the work and the pay of those workers can be compared, even if they work in different establishments.”
Kiran Daurka, a partner in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: “This judgment reinforces the Supreme Court’s ruling that the roles of shop floor workers can be compared to those of their colleagues in distribution centres for the purposes of equal pay.
“For a long time, employers have argued that UK law in this area is unclear, but this judgment is simple, if there is a single body responsible for ensuring equality, the roles are comparable.”
Tesco worker Pam Jenkins said: “To get a judgment confirming shop floor workers can use an easier legal test to compare their jobs to male colleagues in distribution is up lifting.
“I’ve always been proud to work at Tesco but knowing that male colleagues working in distribution centres are being paid more is demoralising.
“I’m hopeful that Tesco will recognise the contribution shop floor workers make to the business and reflect that in our pay.”
But Tesco said jobs in-store and in distribution centres required different skills that demand different variations of pay.
“This has nothing to do with gender,” said a Tesco spokesperson.
“We reward our colleagues fairly for the jobs they do and work hard to ensure that the pay and benefits we offer are fair, competitive and sustainable.
“These claims are extremely complex and will take many years to reach a conclusion. We continue to strongly defend these claims.”