Supermarket Asda is to repay 53,000 current and former employees who were underpaid holiday and sick pay following an issue with its Project Future IT upgrade.
Following changes to its payroll system and processes in February 2024 as part of Project Future, the employer experienced and identified an issue through an internal assessment. External experts carried out a detailed review of its absence-related payments and found that incorrect payments were caused by system issues, inaccurate data inputs, and inconsistencies in how processes were followed.
More than 80% of those who were underpaid are owed less than £19 in total. All underpaid current and former employees are being contacted by Asda about the issue, which covers the period between February 2024 and May 2025.
They will receive the full amount owed, plus a discretionary 12% interest payment, in February. Former employees who left within the last four months will receive the same.
Any affected employees who left more than four months ago will be issued gift cards or cash payments, depending on the value owed. No net overpayments will be reclaimed.
The supermarket stated that the issues have now been resolved and the system has been functioning well since May 2025.
James Goodman, chief people officer at Asda, said: “No Asda employee will be worse off financially. Whether [they] currently work with us or have worked with us, we are paying back every penny owed with 12% interest. Any employee who has been overpaid will be allowed to keep the money, and we are repaying the money that was recovered in March 2024 because of issues caused by the switchover to Project Future. We’ve also taken the steps to ensure nothing like this can happen again, validated by external experts.”
