ASDA / Morrisons - comment
The pay equality claim by ASDA staff is in court in early September, and the successful claim by Next staff will weigh on ASDA bonds. However, the case has been on investor radar for some years, and ASDA has an indemnity from Walmart that will cover some of the cost. The ruling means that Next will have to provide back pay to the staff affected, but it was not found to have discriminated against women (which would have upped the settlement cost). The Tribunal will determine any amounts due to the claimants. Both ASDA and Morrisons could do without further cost headaches, but this is an issue that management has been aware of for some time.
Morrisons has a similar case going through the courts. Any Tribunal decision on ASDA will likely be replicated for Morrisons.