Am I eligible for a supermarket equal pay claim?

Many supermarket store workers still do not realise they may be able to join an equal pay claim.

If you work, or used to work, in-store for Tesco, Morrisons, Asda or Sainsbury's, you may have been paid less than warehouse or distribution centre workers doing work of equal value.

Harcus Parker/EqualPayUK is bringing claims for current and former store workers against Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's.

What is the supermarket equal pay claim about?

The claim is about whether supermarket store workers were paid fairly compared with warehouse and distribution centre workers.

The jobs do not need to be exactly the same. Equal pay law looks at whether the work is of equal value, including the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions involved.

The claims allege that mostly female store workers were paid less than mostly male warehouse or distribution centre workers, despite doing work that may have been of equal value.

Who may be able to join?

You may be eligible if:

• you work, or used to work, in a Tesco, Morrisons, Asda or Sainsbury's store;
• you were paid by the hour;
• you worked there in the last six years;
• you are a current or former store worker.

You may still be able to claim if you have left the supermarket. Men are also eligible. You do not need to be in a union.

Do I need payslips or paperwork?

You do not need to have every payslip before checking whether you can join.

It can help if you have payslips, contracts, job titles, dates of employment or other documents, but many workers do not have everything. The first step is simply to check whether you may be eligible.

Why should I check now?

If you are eligible but do not take action, you may not recover any money.

Workers may be able to claim up to six years of back pay. That means waiting could affect how much you may be able to recover.

The sooner you check, the sooner you can protect your position.