Next has secured a victory in an equal pay appeal, which allows the retailer to pay its warehouse workers a higher rate than its shop-floor staff. The FTSE 100 company had warned that a defeat in the appeal "would have represented a hammer blow to retail employment in the UK."
The Appeal Tribunal found that Next was justified in paying warehouse operatives a better rate. This decision was based on recruitment and retention pressures specific to these roles, which do not apply to sales workers.
In 2024, more than 3,500 current and former Next employees won a six-year legal dispute against the retailer, leading to an estimated payout of over £30 million.
Next informed shareholders on Monday that the successful appeal "affirms a principle at the heart of any effective employment market – that employers must be able to pay what is necessary to recruit the people they need; and that doing so does not oblige them to raise the pay of other employees where there is no reason to do so."