WOMEN shop workers have won the latest round in their fight for equal pay with male colleagues employed behind the scenes.
A tribunal agreed that the work of 2,000 female Next sales staff was of equal value to that of males in the firm's warehouses who earn between £2 and £14 an hour more.
If the women win the third and final stage of their five-year battle it could cost the store up to £100million to raise the pay of all 15,000 staff.
The ruling is also good news for tens of thousands of women with similar claims against the five major supermarkets - Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Co-op.
If they were to win, the stores could have to pay out billions, a source close to the litigation said.
Delighted former Next worker Alison Milton said: "We all knew the warehouse was on more and got a higher bonus. It was unfair but we thought we could do nothing."
Alison, 63, who worked for 23 years at a Bristol Next until retiring in 2021, added: "It's not just women sat behind the till looking pretty.
People don't realise it is hard work." The Next women's claim is being brought by legal firm Leigh Day.
This story is from the June 09, 2023 edition of Daily Mirror UK.
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This story is from the June 09, 2023 edition of Daily Mirror UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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