Co-op shop-floor workers have won a key legal argument in their equal pay dispute with the retail giant.
More than 1,600 Co-op workers have taken action against the business over complaints that they are being paid less than colleagues in the firm's distribution centres.
The mostly female shop-workers have said they should receive pay similar to the mostly male distribution colleagues, who were paid up to £3 more an hour.
The Co-op has now conceded a "comparability concession" in the case, a step towards recognising the different roles are of equal value.
However, the supermarket group said it will continue to defend itself against the claims and believes it pays workers "fairly".
This concession by Co-op is the most recent in a series of comparability milestones for equal pay claims against top supermarkets in the UK.
Last year Next and Sainsbury’s also conceded on the issue of comparability in the equal pay claims they face.
Staff in Sainsbury's distribution centres can be paid £1.50 to £4 an hour more than those working stacking shelves or working on checkouts.
In September 2021, an employment tribunal ruled the roles of Morrisons store workers can be compared to their colleagues in distribution centres.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: “The decision does not decide if retail and logistics roles are of equal value. Morrisons pays a fair day's wage for a fair day's work and will continue to fully defend these proceedings.”
This followed a win for thousands of Tesco shop floor workers when the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled a worker can compare their role with somebody working in a different establishment if a 'single source' has the power to correct the difference in pay.
Tom Hewitt, a solicitor in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: "Leigh Day is delighted to be able to tell Co-op staff that they have cleared the first hurdle in their claims for equal pay.
"We hope that Co-op recognises that they can no longer deny that the work store workers do is of equal value to that of their distribution centre colleagues."
A spokesman for the Co-op said: "Our colleagues play an important role in feeding the nation and it's central to the Co-op's values that we pay them fairly for the work that they do in supporting communities.
"We believe that we pay our colleagues fairly for the roles that they do, and so will continue to defend these claims."
