Supermarket giant Asda is facing a mass legal action by women who work in their stores who claim they are not paid the same as male workers.
Employment lawyers at Leigh Day have revealed they are taking legal action against the supermarket and claimed that over 19,000 people have approached them to get involved in the case.
The women claim they are not paid the same as male workers in the distribution warehouses – despite their jobs being of “equivalent value”.
The supermarket has denied that it discriminates on the basis of gender.
An Asda spokesman said: “A firm of no win, no fee lawyers are hoping to challenge our award-winning reputation as an equal opportunities employer. We do not discriminate and are very proud of our record in this area which, if it comes to it, we will robustly defend.”
New regulations mean that from October 1st 2014 employment tribunals have the power to order employers to conduct equal pay audits when they are found to be in breach of the equal pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010
The case will test how retailers decide what they pay their staff in different parts of their business.
Michael Newman from Leigh Day, claimed that the implications of the claims were “enormous for Asda and many other supermarkets in the UK”.
Asda has 175,000 employees. If the claim is successful, claimants may be entitled to six years’ worth of back pay to compensate for the difference in earnings.