The employment tribunal ruling will benefit 3,540 claimants, who accused Next of paying its retail sales staff who are overwhelmingly female lower hourly wages than its warehouse workers, the majority of whom are male.
Next which has 466 stores across the UK had argued that the difference in pay for the two roles was based on the "market rate" for each position, and reflected the need to recruit and retain 24/7 staffing of warehouses, including for night shifts, Sundays and public holidays.
The retailer said pay levels had been set in a way to ensure the "viability" of the business.
The tribunal acknowledged that the decisions were driven by efforts to cut costs and boost profit. It also accepted that the discrepancy was not due to "direct discrimination" in relation to gender, saying "there was no conscious or subconscious gender influence in the way Next set pay rates".
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