Unfortunately, this event has now been cancelled:

Sainsbury’s Equal Pay Meeting – Ellesmere Port (19th March 2020).

It is 50 years since the Equal Pay Act came into force but
sadly equal pay is still an on-going problem in the workplace.

Recent success in Equal Pay Claims

In January 2020 presenter Samira Ahmed won her sex
discrimination equal pay claim against the BBC.

Ahmed claimed she was underpaid by £700,000 for her role in hosting Newswatch compared with Jeremy Vine’s salary for hosting Points of View. The Employment Tribunal ruled that both presenters were carrying out equal work, dismissing the BBC’s argument that Jeremy Vine should be paid more for presenting a higher-profile show.

Samira Ahmed’s case shows that equal pay can be achieved when people stand up for the value of their work.

Sainsbury’s Equal Pay Claim

Hourly paid colleagues working in Sainsbury’s stores who are
predominantly female are paid less than their predominantly male counterparts working in distribution centres. Some may think the pay difference is justified by a difference in the nature of the jobs; for example there may be a perception
that workers in distribution centres have to do a lot of heavy lifting.

However,
many shop floor workers are also required to do heavy lifting, and unlike their
distribution centre colleagues, they must combine this with the many aspects of
customer service in a retail environment. This requires that shop floor workers
demonstrate a whole range of skills, as well as physical stamina. We therefore
believe that the work undertaken by colleagues in the stores is undervalued and
that there is no justified reason for the pay difference.

Leigh Day is a law firm which specialises in equal pay
claims and employment discrimination. We are currently representing almost
3,000 colleagues in an equal pay claim against Sainsbury’s and over 40,000
colleagues in other supermarket cases. Please note that both hourly paid men
and women in stores are eligible to bring an equal pay claim.

Leigh Day’s visit to Ellesmere Port – come and meet
with us!

We are hosting a drop-in session in Ellesmere Port on 19
March 2020. This is a free event where lawyers from Leigh Day will be
available to answer any questions or concerns you may have in a friendly and
informal setting. We can also help you to register an interest in the claim if
you have not yet done so. For more information, please visit the Facebook
events page:

·
Ellesmere Port

If you are unable to attend the above meeting, you can
contact the Leigh Day Sainsbury’s Equal Pay team on 0845 494 0744 or
email at sainsburys@leighday.co.uk.