Asda has failed to stop an employment tribunal brought by over 7,000 of the supermarket giant’s former and current workers over equal pay.

The claimants are arguing that their roles are comparable to the organisation’s warehouse roles, which are generally held by males who earn better pay.  According to the claimants who are primarily women, employees in the warehouse earn up to £4 an hour more than shop-floor workers. The law firm representing the workers, Leigh Day, claims this pay discrepancy is a clear result of gender bias.

Asda, of course, refuted the claims saying discrimination does not exist and requested to have the tribunal proceeding stayed indefinitely.  If this were to occur, the case would have had to have been taken to the High Court by the employees.  The stay was rejected.

The Court of Appeal judged felt the case was “highly exceptional”, and that an employment tribunal would be better suited to deal with this case.

Some human resource experts and employment law experts are describing this case as the “most complex and financially significant equal pay claim to be pursued in the private sector.”