The ruling in the group action against the retailer paves the way for more claimants in the retail sector & beyond, writes Charles Pigott
- Last month’s employment tribunal decision in the Next equal pay litigation is the first substantive ruling to emerge from six separate group actions being brought against national retailers, including Asda and Tesco.
After years of interlocutory hearings, it had been established that the work done by predominantly female store workers was of equal value to that done by their comparators, who worked in Next’s warehouses where a majority of the workers are male. The final stage was reached earlier this year, when a 15-day hearing took place to hear Next’s material factor defence in relation to 17 groups of terms. The reserved decision has now been published (Thandi and others v Next Retail Ltd and Next Distribution Ltd Leeds ET 1302019/18 and others). There are now over 3,500 claimants in this group action.
Next has indicated that it intends to appeal.
The material factor defence
It is not enough for claimants to show
