NEXT is the latest retailer to face an equal pay claim from female employees who feel they are paid less for doing comparable jobs to their male colleagues.
Law firm Pattinson & Brewer has started legal proceedings against the fashion retailer on behalf of hundreds of employees and former employees who have registered to join the action.
The group equal pay action, which is currently being submitted to Acas, will argue that NEXT store staff are owed compensation because of unequal pay extending several years. Lawyers at Pattinson & Brewer believe that predominately female store staff receive on average 24 per cent less than those working in the male dominated warehouses.
Elizabeth George, Head of the Employment Team at Pattinson & Brewer, said: ‘The physical and mental demands on the shop floor are no less than those in the warehouses. The only thing of less substance is the minimum wage being given to our clients.’
‘There really aren’t many simpler legal concepts to grasp than this one – staff doing comparable jobs should be paid the same amount,’ she added.
If the claim is successful, the workers bringing the claim could be entitled to up to six years’ worth of backpay.
A spokesperson from NEXT, said: ‘NEXT has not been notified by Acas on this matter and is therefore currently unaware of any claims against it. The difference between working in a Warehouse and a Store at NEXT is, however, more significant than for any of the retailers now involved in litigation.
‘NEXT values all its employees, regardless of their gender, role and place of work within the business. NEXT is also confident that all its employees are paid legally, fairly and appropriately for the jobs they perform.’
The action against NEXT is one of many similar cases being taken against large retailers. Tesco is facing a claim worth an estimated £4 billion over a pay disparity between store and depot staff, while in September last year, Asda lost its appeal over equal pay comparability.
