Group fights for rights of Tesco workers in Portsmouth who it says were unfairly paid

The 66-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, worked at the Crasswell Street store until 2005.

She is part of a huge legal action that is fighting a multi-million pound equal pay claim against Tesco on behalf of the supermarket’s current and former workers. Tesco denies any wrongdoing.

The woman, from Buckland, said: ‘I’d already left Tesco when it came out that I might have been paid unfairly. I thought everybody would’ve got paid the same.

‘I was annoyed more than anything. They say equal pay but it is not equal. It is not fair.'

She said she was paid less as a store worker than her colleagues who worked in the warehouse, despite them doing the same work.

‘In my view, everybody needs to be paid the same, unless they are doing skilled work,' she said.

‘I can’t really explain how it makes me feel, but it is not right.'

Tesco Action Group was formed by current and former employees in October 2018.

It estimates that 250,000 current Tesco workers and an unknown number of former workers could be entitled to back pay of up to £10,000 each, resulting in a potential total pay-out exceeding £2.5bn.

In Portsmouth, it estimates there are 3,917 people across 46 stores in the PO postcode who could be entitled to a share of £39m.

SEE ALSO: Huge sports shop Sports Direct comes to Portsmouth and opens in Cascades Shopping Centre

They claim Tesco Stores Limited breached its duty under section 66 of the Equality Act 2010 to pay them equally in comparison to men employed in comparable roles.

The claim centres on store workers, who are predominantly women, who believe they have been paid up to £3 less per hour than warehouse and distribution centre workers, who are predominantly men.

Tesco Action Group is championed by Pay Justice, the organisation dedicated to fighting for equality in the workplace, and law firm Harcus Sinclair UK Limited.

A statement from Tesco said: ‘The jobs in our stores and distribution centres are different. These roles require different skills and demands which lead to variations in pay – but this has absolutely nothing to do with gender.

‘We reward our colleagues fairly for the jobs they do and work hard to ensure that the pay and benefits we offer are fair, competitive and sustainable.

‘These claims are extremely complex and will take many years to reach a conclusion. We continue to strongly defend these claims.’