International Employment Lawyer
An employment tribunal has found that British fashion retailer Next discriminated against female workers by paying store staff at a lower rate than warehouse workers.
For Littler’s Chris Coombes and Nicola James, this substantial payout is a good reminder to employees on how easily equal pay claims can snowball, especially as multi-claimant claims become more frequent.
“Given the complexity of such claims to defend and potentially large payouts, employers need to take note of this decision. As part of their compliance checks, employers should seriously consider conducting a thorough audit of their pay practices,” they advise.
“Doing so will help uncover whether there are any significant, unexplained pay discrepancies between men and women doing the same or similar work, and whether there are any roles which may therefore be particularly vulnerable to an equal pay claim.”
