Victory for Next Shop Workers in Landmark Equal Pay Ruling

Thousands of former and current Next employees have won a landmark equal pay claim against the high street retailer after a six-year legal battle, potentially opening the floodgates for similar cases. An employment tribunal involving 3,540 claimants has ruled that Next failed to demonstrate that the lower basic wage paid to sales assistants compared with warehouse operatives was not the result of sex discrimination. The court heard that between 2012 and 2023, the period examined by the tribunal, 77.5 percent of shop workers at the fashion and homeware retailer were female, while 52.75 percent of warehouse operators were male. Under the law, work deemed to be of equal value at the same company must be paid at the same rate unless an employer can demonstrate that the difference in wage is because of a “material factor” that is not sex discrimination....