A FIGHT for equal pay by 35,000 Asda store workers reached the Supreme Court today in the latest round of a long-running dispute at the supermarket giant. 

The workers, most of whom are women, have complained that their colleagues in distribution depots unfairly receive higher wages.

Lawyers have said that supermarket staff could be entitled to several years’ back pay if their fight ends in victory.

Such an outcome could have implications across the industry and possibly lead to supermarkets paying out about £8 billion.

Supreme Court justices considered today whether Asda supermarket staff were entitled to compare themselves to distribution staff for equal pay purposes.

About four years ago, an employment tribunal judge decided that they were, a decision upheld by Court of Appeal judges last year.

Asda bosses claim that the roles are not comparable and want the Supreme Court to overturn the Court of Appeal ruling. The five justices will deliver a verdict on Tuesday.

GMB union legal director Susan Harris said: “We hope and believe the Supreme Court will uphold their rulings and finally get pay justice for our members.

“We are proud to be supporting our members in this litigation and we will continue to do so until the fight for equal pay is won in Asda.”

Employment law specialist Lauren Lougheed at Leigh Day, representing the workers in court, said that she was hopeful for a victory that would “prove once and for all that the roles are comparable.”

Adam Pennington, employment law specialist at fellow law firm Stephensons, said the case was “highly significant,” both for the workers affected and the private sector as a whole.

He said that if the court ruled in favour of the employees, it would “open up the possibility of claims” against any other employers where there is a pay rates discrepancy.

“In the last few months alone, we’ve been reminded how important those working in our supermarkets really are,” he said. 

“The hope from these workers will be that the Supreme Court finds their hard work is of equal value to those colleagues in the depot and that steps are taken to level out an uneven shop floor when it comes to wages.”