Tesco faces discrimination charges in case brought by employees
18 Oct 2016
Tesco workers have initiated legal proceedings against their employer on grounds of age and gender discrimination after the supermarket cut its pay rates for night and weekend shifts.
The fight over the wage cuts introduced in July this year was started by 17 employees, who joined Tesco before 1999. According to lawyers, the cut could affect around 38,000 hourly-wage staff.
The retailer announced the cuts in February, which had been agreed in consultation with the shopworkers' trade union, Usdaw, and staff representatives.
The company pointed out that an accompanying 3.1- per cent pay increase to £7.62 per hour made it among highest payers in the retail industry. However, staff who used to receive double time for Sunday or bank holiday shifts saw their earnings cut.
Legal firm Leigh Day has asked Tesco on behalf of the employees, how many of Tesco's hourly-wage staff who were mostly over 40 years were affected. All staff who had joined before 5 July 1999 had seen their benefits cut.
Paula Lee of Leigh Day's employment and discrimination department, said, ''The decision to impose pay cuts on long-serving employees is a bitter pill for our clients to swallow and we believe it is discriminatory.
"There seems to be a growing trend amongst retailers to cut staff wages and use those savings across other areas of the business,'' The Guardian reported.
A Tesco spokeswoman said, "Earlier this year we announced a pay increase of up to 3.1 per cent for colleagues working in our stores across the UK, in addition to a 5-per cent turnaround bonus, BBC reported online.
"As part of the pay negotiations we also agreed to simplify premium payments to ensure a fair and consistent approach for all colleagues.
"The minority of colleagues who were negatively impacted by this change were supported with an agreed lump sum transition payment."
