'Justifiable' | Next wins tribunal appeal to overturn £30m equal pay ruling

Next has won a major stage of its long-running equal pay dispute, after an appeal judge ruled that it could pay warehouse operatives more than shop workers performing work of equal value.

More than 3,500 current and former employees had been set to receive potentially more than £30m in back pay following a 2024 judgement, which ruled the retailer was wrong to pay warehouse staff a higher basic pay rate than shop floor workers, who are predominantly female.

But the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled on Monday (September 7th) that the original tribunal had approached the pay gap incorrectly. Instead of focusing on why Next had not increased store workers’ wages, it should have considered why the retailer needed to pay warehouse employees more.

Mr Justice Bourne found that Next paid the rates necessary to recruit and retain warehouse staff, while the same pressures did not apply in its stores.