Across the UK, employees doing similar jobs with similar levels of responsibility are being paid very differently. If that sounds familiar, you might be wondering if your pay is fair – or even legal.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through what “fair pay” really means, what your rights are under UK law, and how to recognise the warning signs that you might be underpaid.
How to tell if you’re being underpaid at work. And what to do about it.
You turn up on time, work just as hard, and finish your shift like everyone else. So why are some roles paid more than others in the same company? In many supermarkets and high street stores, shop floor staff are being paid less than warehouse or distribution workers, even though the work requires similar levels of effort, skill and responsibility.
This isn’t just frustrating – it could be illegal.
Here’s what we’ll cover to help you understand where you stand, with steps you can take if your pay doesn’t add up.
Fair pay for fair work means getting equal pay for doing a job that’s comparable in value. It’s not just about job titles. It’s about the actual work you do – how hard it is, the skills you need, and the responsibilities you carry.
For example, a shop floor assistant who deals with customers, handles stock, and works under time pressure could be seen as doing work of equal value to a warehouse worker managing deliveries and manual handling.
If you and a colleague are:
…then your pay should reflect that.
There are many reasons why workers might be paid differently. Experience, responsibilities, qualifications, or performance-based pay can all play a part. The law doesn’t ban all pay differences. But it does protect workers from certain kinds of inequality that go beyond being unfair and into being unlawful. For example, where the difference in pay is linked to gender.
The Equality Act protects people from discrimination in the workplace based on the following nine protected characteristics:
It’s unlawful to pay someone less, deny them a bonus, or exclude them from benefits because of any of these characteristics – unless the employer can objectively justify it with a legitimate reason.
These may not fall under an equal pay claim (which is specific to sex-based comparisons), but they could still be challenged under other parts of the Equality Act – often through a discrimination claim.
However, when it comes to the Equality Act, there are some nuances to be aware of. For example, the legal minimum hourly rates differ by age group when it comes to the UK National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW). So, someone aged 18 may lawfully earn less per hour than someone aged 23+, even if they do the same job.
This difference is lawful because it’s explicitly permitted by legislation and it has a legitimate aim (supporting young people in employment and training). So under the Equality Act 2010, this kind of age-based pay difference is not considered discrimination.
Nevertheless, if you’re doing work that’s of equal value to a colleague of the opposite sex, you have the right to be paid equally. This is protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Yes. Equal pay claims can benefit men as well as women.
Take the supermarket claims as an example. In many of these cases, store workers (mostly women) are comparing their roles to warehouse workers (mostly men) and arguing that the work is of equal value, and should be paid the same. If a court or tribunal agrees, it doesn’t just affect the women bringing the case – it affects everyone in those underpaid roles.
That means men working in store roles could also be entitled to compensation if the pay gap is ruled unlawful. The claim is based on the job, not the individual. So if you’re doing that job, regardless of your gender, and you’ve been underpaid, you may have just as much right to backpay as your colleagues.
When people are paid less for doing the same work, it sends a message that their contribution matters less. Over time, this can affect everything from morale and motivation to health and financial security.
For individuals, unfair pay can mean struggling to make ends meet while doing just as much – or more – than someone earning more in the same company. It can mean missed opportunities, stress, and a sense of being undervalued.
For workplaces, unequal pay can lead to resentment, high turnover, and reputational damage. And for society, persistent pay inequality reinforces outdated assumptions about who deserves what.
The principle is simple: if the work is equal, the pay should be too.
In the UK, the latest Office for National Statistics figures show the gender pay gap is:
*Office for National Statistics
Across the UK, thousands of workers have already taken action over unfair pay. Shop floor staff, cleaners, carers, and high street employees are finally holding their employers to account.
These legal challenges aren’t just about getting backpay – although that is crucially important. They’re also about exposing double standards and showing that equal work should mean equal pay, no matter your job title, department, or gender.
Here are just a few examples that are helping change the game:
Thousands of workers from Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons have brought claims because shop floor staff (mostly women) are paid less than warehouse staff (mostly men). Legal experts believe these jobs are of equal value, and therefore, the supermarkets should pay their workers equally.
These supermarket store workers may have been underpaid as much as £30,000 each.
In 2024, an employment tribunal ruled that Next store staff should have been paid the same rate as Next warehouse employees. As a result of the ruling, the underpaid workers could now be due more than £30 million in backpay.
It’s not just shop workers who experience unfair pay. In 2017, BBC employees highlighted significant gender pay disparities within the organisation, leading to public outcry and litigation. Female journalists and broadcasters, including high-profile figures, claimed they were paid less than their male counterparts performing similar roles. The scandal garnered widespread media coverage, adding pressure for the BBC to address its pay practices.
In several local authorities, female-dominated roles like carers, cleaners, or teaching assistants have been paid less than male-dominated roles like refuse collectors or road workers. These cases highlight how long-standing pay structures can hide systemic inequality.
Sainsbury’s equal pay claim
In 2015, female shop floor workers launched an equal pay claim against Sainsbury's. In 2023, Sainsbury’s bid to halt an equal pay lawsuit on a technicality was thrown out by the Court of Appeal.
Morrisons equal pay claim
In 2018, the first Morrisons equal pay claim was launched.
In early 2025, the Morrisons equal pay case took a significant step forward when an Employment Tribunal agreed finalised job descriptions for Morrisons shop and warehouse workers. These will be used to determine whether the roles are comparable.
Co-op equal pay claim
In 2020, hundreds of Co-op employees launched an equal pay claim against the supermarket chain. In January 2024, The first hearing for the claim took place at the Manchester Employment Tribunal.
Asda equal pay claim
In 2021, thousands of Asda supermarket workers won a major victory in their battle for equal pay when the UK Supreme Court upheld the earlier court ruling, meaning that Asda shop floor staff could be compared to warehouse workers.
In early 2025, thousands of Asda workers achieved a major victory against the supermarket giant when an employment tribunal ruled that 12 out of 14 lead claimants, representing approximately 60,000 Asda employees - predominantly women in store roles – do jobs of equal value, despite being paid up to £3.74 less per hour than their mainly male warehouse colleagues.
Tesco equal pay claim
In November 2023, the Tesco equal pay case took a significant step forward as six test cases moved to final hearing. By focusing on these six key cases, the tribunal expects to speed up the legal process for all Tesco equal pay claimants, possibly by several years.
The Glasgow Council equal pay action was one of the most significant gender pay gap cases in the UK. In 2018, after years of negotiations and mounting public and media pressure, the council finally agreed to settle the claims for an estimated £500 million in compensation. This is one of the largest equal pay settlements in the UK.
The Birmingham City Council pay dispute was settled in late 2024, when the council agreed to settle equal pay claims with 6,000 staff members.
Spotting unfair pay isn’t always straightforward. But there are signs to look out for – patterns and practices that, when taken together, can point to a pay gap that shouldn’t be there. Start by asking yourself:
Is there transparency about pay rates? Are there clear bands or published salary ranges, or is pay shrouded in secrecy?
A job called “customer assistant” and one called “floor support” might sound different, but if they involve the same tasks, they may be directly comparable.
If most warehouse workers are men and most shop floor workers are women, and the warehouse roles are better paid, that’s a potential red flag.
Or is the difference in pay simply down gender?
Do all staff get the same percentage increases and bonuses - or are some groups routinely left behind?
You don’t need to have all the facts to sense something’s not right. Often, the biggest sign that something is off is when you’re actively discouraged from discussing pay at all.
One of the key questions in an equal pay claim is whether two different roles are actually comparable in terms of value. The jobs don’t need to be identical. They just need to require a similar level of skill, effort, and responsibility.
A real-life example of this comes from the Next equal pay case, where store workers argued that their roles were of equal value to warehouse staff – and won. In this case, a tribunal found the work done by the women in the Next stores was equal to the warehouse operative work in terms of the demands involved.
Pay inequality often hides in plain sight. Once you know what to look for, it becomes a lot harder to ignore. Use the questions below to check if you might be experiencing unfair pay. Answering “yes” to even a few of these could suggest it’s time to look more closely at your situation.
Do you know how your pay compares to others doing similar work at the company?
Are there clear salary bands or structures in your workplace?
Can you ask about how pay decisions are made without fear of consequences?
Does your job title accurately reflect what you actually do?
Are people doing the same work under different job titles and getting paid more?
Have jobs been renamed or restructured without changing responsibilities or pay?
Are you doing work that requires the same effort, skill, or responsibility as others – even in different roles – who earn more?
Are the people who work in these comparable, but better paid roles, typically men, while the people doing your role are typically women?
Are you on a part-time, agency, or zero-hours contract and getting paid a lower hourly rate while doing the same work as permanent staff?
Is your pay or entitlement to benefits (like bonuses, holiday or sick pay) affected by your contract – even though your duties are the same?
Have you been discouraged or explicitly told not to discuss your pay with colleagues?
Do you feel uncomfortable or unsafe raising questions about pay or fairness at work?
Do you feel undervalued compared to others?
Do you think your role or department is consistently overlooked when it comes to pay increases or recognition?
This checklist is a tool to help you think about potential pay issues in your workplace. It is not legal advice. Some differences in pay may have lawful explanations, such as differences in experience or job responsibility. If you’re unsure whether your situation is unlawful, we recommend seeking tailored advice from a qualified employment solicitor.
Knowing your rights is a powerful first step in challenging unfair pay. Even if you’re not sure whether your situation is unlawful, you have protections under UK employment law.
Here are some of the rights you should know about:
If you’re doing work that’s of equal value to a colleague of the opposite sex, you have the right to be paid equally. This right is protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Employers can’t legally prevent you from discussing your salary with co-workers. Pay secrecy policies are often used to hide inequality. Talking about pay is one of the most effective ways to uncover unfair practices.
If you believe you’ve been underpaid or treated unfairly compared to others, you have the right to raise it. In many cases, people bring claims together as part of a group action, especially if the issue affects lots of workers in the same company.
Equal pay claims brought to an employment tribunal must usually be made:
Some employers try to classify people as “self-employed” to avoid giving them proper pay or benefits. But if your employer controls when, where, or how you work, you may be legally classed as a “worker” or “employee” – and entitled to more rights.
That includes:
If you’ve spotted something that feels off with your pay, or noticed that you and your colleagues aren’t being treated equally, you don’t have to stay silent. You have options, and taking the first step doesn’t need to be complicated.
Here’s what you can do:
Start gathering information about your role, responsibilities, pay, and hours. If you can, note down any details about other roles that seem similar but better paid. Old contracts, payslips, and job descriptions can all help build a picture.
Remember, you have a legal right to discuss your pay with colleagues. Speaking to others can help you understand whether the issue affects more people and it might give you the confidence to take action together.
Employees with similar claims can come together in group litigation to form a collective case against their employer. This demonstrates that wage disparity isn’t just a one-off issue but a systemic problem within the organisation. This collective approach also makes it harder for companies to dismiss the claims.
If your experience is part of a bigger issue, there may already be a group claim underway. By joining an existing equal pay claim, you can strengthen your case, reduce legal costs, and make it easier to push for change. Join the Claim offers a quick online checker to see if you qualify for a live gender pay gap group litigation claim.
If you are eligible to join a claim, you’ll be connected with a regulated UK law firm that works on a no win, no fee basis. That means you won’t pay anything upfront. If it succeeds, the solicitor takes a pre-agreed percentage from any compensation awarded.
To help build your case, your lawyer may ask for further evidence to support your case. Evidence in gender pay gap group litigation may include:
Documents showing wage differences for employees in similar roles (e.g. payslips and employment contracts).
Records of company pay policies, promotion practices, and performance evaluations.
Statements from employees sharing their experiences with pay disparities, including how these disparities have impacted their career growth and financial well-being.
With evidence and legal support in place, the case moves forward.
In many group litigation cases, employers may prefer to settle rather than face a prolonged court battle, especially when a large group of employees presents a united front. Settlements often lead to compensation for affected staff and, in some cases, agreements for better wages for all in the future. If the case goes to court, a judge will determine the outcome based on the evidence provided.
If this guide has struck a chord – whether you’re feeling underpaid, unsure about your rights, or just curious about how things work behind the scenes – you’re already doing something powerful: paying attention.
No one should be paid less for doing the same job. And no one should have to fight alone to be treated fairly. If something doesn’t feel right, trust yourself. Ask questions. And know that help is out there.
Because fair work deserves fair pay, and you deserve to know where you stand.
Here’s how to keep that momentum going:
If you have worked at any of these stores, you could qualify for more than one equal pay claim.
Bee is the content lead at Join the Claim, where she helps people understand their rights and take action when they’ve been wronged. With a background in PR, copywriting, and content strategy, she’s spent over a decade writing about legal matters – turning complex topics into clear, accessible resources that inform and empower.
From writing about data breaches to explaining how group claims work, Bee’s goal is always the same: to give people the confidence they need to take the next step. She’s committed to making legal information feel human, relevant, and easy to trust.
Disclaimer
This guide is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing, employment law can be complex and subject to change. Any examples provided are illustrative only and outcomes can vary based on individual circumstances.
Join the Claim is not a law firm. We provide a platform to raise awareness of consumer issues and connect individuals to legal information, investigations and potential claims as they develop. Registering your interest does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
Last Updated: 23 June 2025
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