20,000 at Sports Direct on zero-hours contracts, says Guardian
29 July 2013
Nearly 90% of retail chain Sports Direct’s 23,000 staff are employed on zero-hours contracts, according to a report today in The Guardian.
Mon, 29 Jul 2013Nearly 90% of retail chain Sports Direct’s 23,000 staff are employed on zero-hours contracts, according to a report today in The Guardian.
The company’s entire 20,000 part-time workforce are employed on the contracts, which give no guarantee of any hours and are now under informal scrutiny by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The UK’s four biggest retailers (Asda, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s and Tesco), as well as a number of other leading firms, including Argos, B&Q, Homebase, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, have confirmed to the paper that they do not use such contracts.
The Guardian also claims that managers at Sports Direct have the power to exclude a member of staff from the company’s bonus scheme in a manner that employment lawyers tell the newspaper could be subject to abuse.
Sports Direct chief executive officer Dave Forsey defended the bonus scheme, saying it “glues this company together”. He said he was surprised more firms have not introduced similar arrangements.
As reported in the July edition of Recruiter, the director of The Work Foundation, Ian Brinkley, has suggested that the rise in the use of zero-hours contracts must not be blown out of proportion – although there was concern about their proliferation within the social care sector.
The company’s entire 20,000 part-time workforce are employed on the contracts, which give no guarantee of any hours and are now under informal scrutiny by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The UK’s four biggest retailers (Asda, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s and Tesco), as well as a number of other leading firms, including Argos, B&Q, Homebase, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, have confirmed to the paper that they do not use such contracts.
The Guardian also claims that managers at Sports Direct have the power to exclude a member of staff from the company’s bonus scheme in a manner that employment lawyers tell the newspaper could be subject to abuse.
Sports Direct chief executive officer Dave Forsey defended the bonus scheme, saying it “glues this company together”. He said he was surprised more firms have not introduced similar arrangements.
As reported in the July edition of Recruiter, the director of The Work Foundation, Ian Brinkley, has suggested that the rise in the use of zero-hours contracts must not be blown out of proportion – although there was concern about their proliferation within the social care sector.
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