Think tank says growing ‘equal value’ litigation is exposing councils and retailers in particular to mounting financial liabilities
22 June 2026
The legal doctrine of 'equal value', which allows employees in different roles to bring equal pay claims if their jobs are deemed of similar value, could cost employers billions of pounds, a study has warned.
The GMB union has 40,000 equal pay claims outstanding across 26 local authorities and intends to launch a further 10,000 claims, according to a report by think tank the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).
Robert Colvile, director of the CPS and co-author of the report, said it was “increasingly clear that the doctrine of 'equal value' has taken the question of pay far beyond what is rational or sensible”.
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The report pointed to a series of high-profile cases that illustrated the scale of potential liabilities facing employers.
One of the most significant was the case against fashion retailer Next, where more than 3,500 current and former workers won 30m after successfully arguing that predominantly female store roles were of equal value to higher-paid warehouse jobs.
The tribunal ruled in favour of the claimants despite evidence that warehouse workers were harder to recruit and attracted higher market rates.
The CPS also noted that...
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