This week the [UK Supreme] court will consider whether Asda shopfloor workers, most of whom are women, should have been paid in line with male distribution staff for the purposes of equal pay. The latest appeal is Asda’s final chance to argue that the roles are not comparable…solicitors at Leigh Day, the law firm representing the women, are confident. “All five judges who have looked at this case before have decided in the shop assistants’ favour, so we are confident the supreme court will agree with them,” said Michael Newman, a partner at Leigh Day.

…The firm is also representing clients from Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and Co-op in similar equal pay cases. If the five supermarkets lose, they could be ordered to pay all eligible staff more than an estimated £8bn.

…An Asda spokesperson said…“Our hourly rates of pay in stores are the same for female and male colleagues, and this is equally true in our depots. Pay rates in stores differ from pay rates in distribution centres because the demands of the jobs in stores and the jobs in the distribution centre are very different.”