ASDA has decided to abandon its two tier wage system in favour of an equal rate for all employees doing the same job. The decision has been made in the light of potential age discrimination claims. The change in policy is expected to cost ASDA over £1.7 million and will see the average worker under the age of 18 take home an extra £300 over the next year.
Sarah Dickins, head of reward and recognition at ASDA, said: “With the new age discrimination rules coming into force this week, we’ve taken another look at all our policies and have decided we no longer think it’s acceptable to have different pay rates for different age groups – you should be paid for the job you do, regardless of your age.”
Jude Brimble, GMB national officer for GMB members in ASDA said: “It has been a long-standing GMB principle that people should be paid the rate for the job they do, regardless of age. So this is a very important breakthrough at ASDA for young workers. GMB welcomes this and consider that the Low Pay Commission should follow suit and recommend that this become the law of the land.”
|
