Court of Appeal refuses ASDA’s request for transfer of claims to High Court
Some 7000 shelf stackers have brought claims against the supermarket heavyweight seeking equal pay with warehouse operatives. The claims are akin to the public sector and local authority equal pay claims which cost the taxpayer millions. The shelf stackers offload goods from a pallet and stack them onto shelves on the shop floor and the warehouse operatives take goods off shelves in the distribution centres and load them onto pallets. The shelf stackers (mainly women) are paid less than the warehouse operatives (mainly men). If successful, the claimants could be awarded with payments backdated six years with the potential to bring big supermarkets to their knees.
ASDA’s reasons for seeking a transfer
ASDA requested a stay of proceedings in the Employment Tribunal to compel the claimants to bring their claims in the High Court. ASDA argued that this case is exceptional and unique such that it requires to be considered before the High Court. ASDA’s counsel submitted that it is “by far the most important, complex and financially significant equal pay claim ever pursued in the private sector” with the potential to “have the single largest effect on the economy of the UK in recent years” (perhaps ill-judged to argue in the same week as BREXIT!).
Why was the transfer rejected?
Parliament has legislated to allow the High Court to transfer equal pay claims to the Employment Tribunal but not for the converse situation; there are few High Court judges with the same level of expertise in equal pay claims as Employment Tribunal judges; the transfer would have prejudicial effects on the employees including additional court fees, legal costs, stress and delay.
ASDA took a gamble in seeking a transfer as the supermarket now faces the uncomfortable prospect of defending equal pay claims before an Employment Tribunal judge, whom they suggested was not competent to hear the case.
If the claimants are successful the floodgates for equal pay claims in the private sector will be wedged open. It is estimated that a further 150,000 ASDA employees, and hundreds of thousands of employees from other supermarkets could bring similar equal pay claims.
MacRoberts will update you after the judgement in the ASDA case is handed down.
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![\"\"](\"http://www.macroberts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MichelleSutherland_macroberts.jpg\")
Michelle is a Law Society Accredited Specialist in Employment Law and has been in practice for more years than she is prepared to admit!
She advises a full spectrum of private and public sector clients on a comprehensive range of HR and legal issues. Her expertise includes advising local and central government on equality issues and industrial action, and in conducting advocacy at Employment Tribunals in all jurisdictions (including complex high profile claims of indirect discrimination and mass equal pay class actions).
She combines technical wizardry with straightforward approachability and this is put to good effect during her teaching commitments and client training initiatives.
Morton Fraser MacRoberts LLP
MacRoberts LLP, one of the largest independently owned law firms in Scotland, was founded over 150 years ago by the MacRobert family. We are a leading Scottish commercial law firm with full-service offices in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow with a client base that reaches across Scotland and beyond.
