Equal pay claims lodged against Morrisons

Bradford-headquartered supermarket Morrisons is facing further legal action by women who work in its stores and warehouses.

Law firm Roscoe Reid is looking to challenge the Big Four supermarket on behalf of clients who say they are not paid the same as male workers who are doing comparable jobs.

According to reports, lawyers say that if the legal challenge is successful, thousands of women could receive back pay averaging £15,000.

Morrisons is to contesting the case. It is the second claim to be made against the supermarket for equal pay, as law firm Leigh Day  last year submitted a case. Leeds-headquartered Asda has also been hit with similar claims.

Law firm Roscoe Reid told the BBC that the complaints applied not just to pay, but also other terms and conditions, such as bonus payments, holidays and sick leave.

Ellie Pinnells, a lawyer at Roscoe Reid, told the BBC: “There is a clear case that female roles have been underpaid for a long time and employees are very likely to win their equal pay cases.

“Asda has tried to fight every point, but has had a string of defeats in the court. Let’s hope Morrisons takes a different approach and tries to put an end to decade-long unfair pay on their shop floors.”

Morrisons spokeswoman told the BBC: “We are perplexed that this law firm is talking about ‘thousands’ of claimants as they have written to us recently with a significantly smaller list of claimants.

“We believe we pay our colleagues fairly and equally for the job that they do, irrespective of their gender, and we will be defending this claim.”

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