Business Tesco staff win legal argument in equal pay fight - Sitting at a checkout ruled equal to warehouse work

Thousands of current and former Tesco workers have won a legal argument in their fight for equal pay.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that an EU law could be relied on in making equal pay claims against their employer.

Tesco workers, mostly women, have argued that they failed to receive equal pay for work of equal value with colleagues in its distribution centres who are mostly men.

They said this breached EU and UK laws.
Tesco, the UK's biggest retailer, and law firm Leigh Day, acting on behalf of the workers, sought clarification from the Court of Justice of the European Union.

They asked the court to rule on a specific aspect of European law - whether the so-called "single source" test applies to businesses in the UK.

Under EU law, a worker can be compared with somebody working in a different establishment if a "single source" has the power to correct the difference in pay.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Asda shop workers can compare their roles with those of their colleagues in distribution centres for the purposes of equal pay. This ruling mainly focused on the UK legal test for comparability.

'Time to accept'​

According to Leigh Day, the latest decision reinforces the Supreme Court's ruling and makes it extremely difficult for other supermarkets to argue the roles of shop workers cannot be compared with those of their colleagues in distribution centres.
Kiran Dauka, a partner in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: "This judgement 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.
"Clarification from the CJEU confirms that this single source test can be relied upon by people in the UK bringing an equal value claim. This means that employers can no longer hide behind the grey areas of UK law.

"It's time for supermarkets to accept that the roles of shop floor workers and distribution centre workers are comparable."

'Uplifting' decision​

Pam Jenkins, who works at Tesco, said: "To get a judgement confirming shop floor workers can use an easier legal test to compare their jobs to male colleagues in distribution is uplifting.

"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."

The legal test for comparability is only the first of three stages within Asda's overall pay claim, which is expected to take several years to conclude.

Leigh Day is also handing similar equal pay claims against Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and Co-op, which are not as far advanced.
A Tesco spokesperson said: "The jobs in our stores and distribution centres are different. These roles require different skills and demands which lead to variations in pay - but this has absolutely nothing to do with gender.

"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."

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Harder physically demanding job staffed mostly by men, women most effected.

Nothing is stopping those women sat looking at Facebook on their phone from getting a job in the distribution centre. There are women working distribution centres just like there are men working in stores.

"Work of equal value" sounds awfully communist to me. What's next the cleaning staff at a company should be paid the same as the professional employees because of "equal value" to the company?

ETA for nonBrits Leigh-day are the ultimate in grievance ambulance chasing solicitors. If you ever hear of some bullshit social justice claim in a British court you can be certain they won't be far away from the action. They come up with these cases then go find a client with standing so they can pursue it rather than someone coming to them.

 

[Product Placement]

Checkout staff are truly shit most of the time and spend time talking to each other rather than doing their jobs, it's why I'm happy self checkout is replacing them and this will just speed that up.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

Work of equal value
As determined by who exactly?

 

[Coccxys]

There is a big difference between checkout and distribution centre work.

Distribution centre staff have devices they use to scan the products as they out them in the cage, mark the cage complete and get it to the loading dock in a set time limit and missing that time or packing cages incorrectly too often will get you fired. There are heavy things that need lugging around and it's nonstop.

Checkout staff sit on a chair infront of a checkout in an air conditioned store scanning things as customers arrive and taking payment with no set deadline for how fast it should be done.

Even if both are required for the store to make money they have different value, distribution work is hard with long shifts they have to pay what they do or no one would do it, checkout work really isn't that difficult so the pay reflect that.

No one has ever said a woman who works in the store can't transfer to a distribution centre to earn more just because they're a woman.

This who "equal value to the company" argument is right out of Marxism, if everyone is essential the company making money shouldn't they be paid the same no matter how easy or hard the job is?

 

[Screw Danlon]

So, now that they offer equal pay for distribution centers and clerking, watch as all the distribution workers quit to go work as clerks, cause it’s easier and they’re not idiots.

 

[Coccxys]

So, now that they offer equal pay for distribution centers and clerking, watch as all the distribution workers quit to go work as clerks, cause it’s easier and they’re not idiots.

No way they'll keep the numbers of staffing they have now if they have to give them all a 50% pay rise. Don't cry retail workers it's not a grave, it's the future you chose.

 

[Blamo]

The European Court of Justice has ruled that an EU law could be relied on in making equal pay claims against their employer.

Didn't the UK supposed to leave the EU or something? A nation with any sense of dignity shouldn't let outsiders this blatantly interfere with internal issues.

 

[User names must be unique]

The simple test should be to compare the cost of automating the work.

The cost of automating checkout staff is at or around the cost human staff considering they're already doing it.

The cost of automating cargo handing in distribution centres would be massive and take years to pay off the upfront cost.

 

[Ly Erg]

Didn't the UK supposed to leave the EU or something? A nation with any sense of dignity shouldn't let outsiders this blatantly interfere with internal issues.

While Most of the UK isn’t entirely involved with the European Court of Justice, Northern Ireland is so ehh by proxy really.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

* Demand higher pay for a job that is already being automated
* Get fired because your new wage makes building an automated checkout far more economically valuable.
* Surprise Pikachu face.

Enjoy whoring yourself on OnlyFans you fucking bitch

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Look, keeping yourself from exploding in rage at stupid customers is hard work.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

Look, keeping yourself from exploding in rage at stupid customers is hard work.

While this is true I can remember doing at least one retail job where the warehouse was on site. So being one of the lone penis havers on many shifts I was often sent into the back to unload the trucks in between dealing with idiot customers on the tills, carrying everything too heavy for the female staff to help customers with and occasionally being summoned to try to jump start broken down cars on the car park. All in the same work clothes.

So my sympathy for the till staff is very limited.

 

[HarveyMCR]

While this is true I can remember doing at least one retail job where the warehouse was on site. So being one of the lone penis havers on many shifts I was often sent into the back to unload the trucks in between dealing with idiot customers on the tills, carrying everything too heavy for the female staff to help customers with and occasionally being summoned to try to jump start broken down cars on the car park. All in the same work clothes.

So my sympathy for the till staff is very limited.

Back in college I worked at a restaurant. Part of our job was cleaning out the bathrooms. I really hated cleaning the women's room because I fucking hated dealing with the tampon container, so me and my female coworkers came to an agreement that I would take the trash out to a dumpster if they took care of the small trash can thing. Good trade off, I do the physical labor (because I'm a physically healthy man and carrying trash a few hundred feet isn't a big deal to me, compared to a small woman), and they took care of the period trash which they've been dealing with their entire life.

Few weeks later, we get told by management that one person, and only one person does the entire bathroom. If you're told to do the men's room, you take out the men's room's trash. You're told to do the women's room, you do the tampon container and take out the trash. I brought up the system we had, and how I didn't feel comfortable, as a man, dealing with feminine hygiene waste. They waved me off and said that it's part of the gig and grow up.

I don't know what to tell you, but I guarantee you I was significantly less impacted by having to throw on a pair of gloves and grab a plastic bag than the women were having to haul heavy trash bag to the dumpster in the freezing cold. In terms of effort, I was the clear winner. In terms of happiness, no one won.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

I don't know what to tell you, but I guarantee you I was significantly less impacted by having to throw on a pair of gloves and grab a plastic bag than the women were having to haul heavy trash bag to the dumpster in the freezing cold. In terms of effort, I was the clear winner. In terms of happiness, no one won.

Yep, often the way it seems. Decisions made by upper echelons to stop informal ways workers find to ease the workday result in more annoyance for everyone.