Legal setback for borough Tesco staff in major pay dispute

However, their case suffered a jolt when an employment tribunal ruled that a job evaluation study carried out by the retail giant is unreliable.

The supermarket workers are taking legal action against their employer over claims they have been systematically underpaid and undervalued for their roles compared to their colleagues in distribution centres.

The verdict in the latest legal skirmish not going their way has done little to dampen the determination of those involved in the case and the law experts representing them.

And workers in Tesco stores who have not yet got in touch with the campaigners are being urged to join in and support the case.

Legal firms Harcus Sinclair and Leigh Day are both involved in the case, with the former giving some indication of just how big the ramifications of the dispute could be.

Harcus Sinclair has 56 employees from Wigan and Leigh among the 7,000 nationwide claimants it is representing.

That means it is now known that almost 100 Tesco workers from the borough are involved in the equal pay dispute. The firm has also estimated that around 1,456 employees at Wigan and Leigh’s three superstores and six express outlets could potentially have a total pay claim of some £14.5m.

Claimants had been hoping to base their arguments on a 2014 study carried out by Tesco which found that 22 hourly-paid store roles were equivalent to three higher paid distribution centre roles.

However, despite the tribunal ruling this could not form the basis of the case lawyers have vowed to battle on.

Emily Fernando, senior associate at Harcus Sinclair, said: “The job evaluation study was a legal short cut but the wind hasn’t been taken out of our sails by this not going our way.

“This is a very old-fashioned discrimination that has been in place for a very long time, where traditionally male roles attract a higher salary.

“It is quite clear to us that store workers are of at least equal value to distribution centres roles and Tesco’s pay is not fair.”

Lara Kennedy, a solicitor in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: “This is not the end of the road for this argument, we still believe fairness can win.

“The Employment Tribunal had to consider complex case law which has developed over the last 50 years and has, unfortunately, made it difficult for women to rely on job evaluation studies created by their employers to bring these types of equal pay claims.

"It is our belief that the only reason shop floor workers have not been paid equally is because, despite their own study telling them otherwise, Tesco see the work done in stores, typically by women, as lesser in value than that done in distribution centres by their mostly male colleagues.”

The tribunal decision is being reviewed and an appeal could be lodged before Christmas.

It is also likely that the legal teams will have to get the tribunal to employ independent experts to carry out a job evaluation study which will carry enough weight and is robust enough to be used in the proceedings.

The equal pay campaigners are also desperate to get more current supermarket staff who could be getting short-changed in their pay packets involved.

Christine Sepahi, a former worker at the supermarket and a member of the Tesco Action Group committee, said: “Employees don’t need to feel frightened that there will be comeback from Tesco. They are legally bound not to put any pressure on them.

“Tesco has undervalued shop floor workers throughout the years. In a depot you are given a job and you do it.

“Store workers are multi-skilled. You could be pulled from your department to go on checkouts and you have to work around customer flow. They can use you wherever they want during your time in the store. In my first 18 months I did seven different roles.”