On September 7, 2026, the United Kingdom’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that a clothing retailer based in the United Kingdom could rely on recruiting and retention pressures to justify unequal pay for retail and warehouse workers.

Quick Hits

• Female retail employees in the UK sued Next Retail Limited for paying them less than male warehouse workers for work of equal value.
• The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) determined that recruiting and retention needs at warehouses were legitimate reasons for the pay differential.
• The EAT found the pay differential was a proportionate response to a legitimate aim.

The UK’s Equality Act 2010 prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, race, religion, and other protected characteristics. It requires employers to give men and women equal pay for equal work. Unequal pay can be justified “if it is in pursuance of an objective which is legitimate and where the means chosen are proportionate to that objective,” the EAT explained.

Background on the Case

The claims were originally brought by 3,540 female retail sales employees working in Next’s shops. In 2018, they sued under the Equality Act 2010, alleging they were paid less than male employees in Next’s warehouses. Over the relevant time period, about 77 percent of the company’s retail sales employees were female, and about 22 percent were male, while about 47 percent of warehouse employees were female, and about 53 percent were male.

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