TENS of thousands of Asda workers, mostly women, could be on track to receive a historic payout after a decade-long battle in a landmark case for pay equality.

An employment tribunal has ruled that most shopworkers involved in the case have jobs of equal value to higher-paid positions in Asda’s warehouses.

GMB union, along with legal firm Leigh Day, brought the case against the supermarket, arguing that the predominantly female retail workforce is paid up to £3.74 per hour less than their mostly male warehouse counterparts.

The tribunal compared the jobs of 14 women lead claimants working on the shop floor with 17 warehouse roles.

It found 11 claimants to be in jobs of  “equal value” to at least some of the warehouse roles, with the tribunal describing it as a “mixed picture.”  

One other claimant, a section leader, was found to be equal to all of them.

The outcome means that the Asda workers have clinched victory in two out of three stages of their equal pay claim, first launched in 2014.

Leigh Day suggested yesterday that if successful, workers could receive backpay worth a staggering £1.2 billion, with individual claims amounting to around £20,000.

However, the ruling against two women judged as not performing work of equal value — a personal shopper and a shop-floor assistant for edible groceries — has eliminated around 20 per cent (11,000) of all claims, Asda says.

Lawyers at Leigh Day, which represents some 60,000 workers in the claim, are considering the possibility of an appeal over the two roles.

Partner at the firm Lauren Lougheed said: “We believe that a strong case was put forward for these roles, and we will be discussing our next steps with those affected.  

“Equal pay is a fundamental right, and this decision takes us one step closer to ensuring that the hard working colleagues in Asda’s stores are not undervalued and are paid what they are owed. ”

Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, described the ruling as a “historic step” towards securing equal pay justice for tens of thousands of Asda workers.

She said: “These women have been fighting for what they are owed for more than 10 years and are close to ending the era of retailers systematically undervaluing women. 

“It’s telling that many of the roles judged to be of equal value are the traditional shop-floor roles women have held in retail for so long.” 

In the third and final stage in the claim, Asda will have to explain if there are justifiable reasons for the pay differences.

An Asda spokesperson said: “We strongly reject any claim that Asda’s pay rates are discriminatory. 

“Asda will continue to defend these claims at the next stage of the litigation because retail and distribution are two different industry sectors that have their own market rates and distinct pay structures.”