An Eastleigh Next worker who led calls for equal pay has said customer service is 'demanding' and often 'undervalued'. 

Helen Scarsbrook, 68, has worked for Next for 20 years and is one of three main claimants who fought against the retailer in a six-year legal battle.

This week, an employment tribunal involving 3,540 claimants ruled that Next failed to demonstrate that the lower basic wage paid to sales consultants compared with warehouse operatives was not the result of sex discrimination.

Between 2012 and 2023, the period examined by the tribunal, 77.5 per cent of retail consultants were female, and 52.75 per cent of warehouse operators were male, according to the ruling.

But the tribunal found that employees were paid different rates in a bid to 'reduce cost and enhance profit'.

It did state, however, that this was not because of 'direct discrimination' including the 'conscious or subconscious influence of gender'. 

READ MORE: Thousands of Next store workers win equal pay claim

Helen, who lives in Eastleigh, said after the ruling: “It has been a long six years battling for the equal pay we all felt we rightly deserved but today we can say we won.

“Anyone who works in retail knows that it is a physically and emotionally tough job.

“Customer service, in particular, is very demanding and we do that in addition to lots of other essential tasks that go to make Next a successful business.

“You become so used to having your work undervalued that you can easily start to doubt it yourself.

“I am so grateful to the judges for seeing our jobs for what they really are – equal.”

Under equal pay law, work of equal value at the same company must be paid equally unless an employer can demonstrate that the difference in wage is because of a “material factor” that is not sex discrimination.

Next said it intends to appeal against the ruling.

This is the first equal pay claim of its type against a national retailer to secure a win, said Leigh Day, the law firm representing thousands of claimants.

Elizabeth George, Leigh Day partner and barrister representing the successful claimants, said the ruling was “hugely significant” and the case was “exactly the type of pay discrimination that equal pay legislation was intended to address”.

In a statement, Next said: “The tribunal rejected the majority of the claims made by the claimants, in particular all claims of direct discrimination, and all aspects of the claims made in respect of bonus pay.

“The tribunal expressed serious criticisms of the claimants’ expert evidence, and overwhelmingly accepted the evidence of Next’s expert and fact witnesses."

Next operates 466 stores in the UK and employs 22,873 sales consultants, the tribunal ruling said.

In 2023, the company’s retail profits were £241 million and its online profits were £467 million, according to the ruling.