Here’s the most shocking testimony from the workers at Sports Direct
Sports Direct's founder Mike Ashley has come under intense pressure from MPs to fix the dire working conditions at his Shirebrook warehouse and in his stores.
In a report released today, the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee outlined just how bad it is to work at Sports Direct as an agency employee.
Read more: MPs have accepted Mike Ashley's invite to the Shirebrook warehouse
Ashley told MPs that he went to the warehouse every week.
"It therefore seems incredible to us that the owner, whose name is inextricably linked with the brand of Sports Direct…would have no idea of the working conditions and practices there," the MPs wrote.
Well, now he definitely does know – and so do we. Here are some of the most shocking stories from the people who work at Sports Direct:
Fired while off sick
"I was off sick for a few weeks because of ill health. I was sending in sick notes from the doctor. The day I was due to start back to work I received an email laying me off, with no explanation, just paid off and a pay statement."
Broken promises
"When the colliery was closed and the town began to suffer, local people wer promised 80 per cent of the jobs, but it came to less than 30 per cent, and the majority of jobs went to Eastern European workers."
Working for free
"I've witnessed staff being made to clock out so wages aren't over budget but they were made to keep working, so they weren't being paid for all the hours they did. I've seen staff kept for an hour after their scheduled finish time to tidy the shop, myself included."
The love/hate relationship
"Working for Sports Direct is a very love/hate relationship. I think you could call it a form of brainwashing. My area manager would send out an email on Monday mornings with a list of total hours worked by each of his store managers the week before. Whoever did the least would get a lecture – not dedicated, not showing commitment etc.
Read more: Four of the most jaw-dropping working practices at Sports Direct
"This wouldn't be a one to one lecture, but a full blown rant with everyone else copied into the email to see. If you weren't doing at least 55 hours a week then you weren't doing enough.
"Staff on zero-hour contracts were being forced to work a further three hours without pay (and if they refused, they would not be offered any hours the following day).
"A female member of staff being forced to talk about her periods publicly (she had been off sick, due to period pains, having regularly worked 12-hour days)."