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Sports Direct


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Utter cunt Mike Ashley, about time they cracked down on shit like this. Job agencies need far more scrutiny of their practices. ( For the love of god don't turn this into a fucking EU referendum thread. The other one is bad enough )
 

Sports Direct to compensate workers after failing to pay minimum wage
 
Unite officials describe ‘culture of fear’ at warehouse, where ambulances have been called 110 times
 
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has agreed with HM Revenue & Customs to compensate its warehouse employees for paying them less than the national minimum wage following a Guardian investigation last year that revealed the company was paying less than the legal minimum.
 
The agreement was revealed by officials from the union Unite who gave hard-hitting evidence to parliament’s business, innovation and skills select committee on Tuesday.
 
Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of Unite, said there was “arrogance and contempt” at the top of Sports Direct, and that its approach to working practices is a “determined business model”.

Luke Primarolo, regional officer at Unite, said there is a culture of fear at Sports Direct’s warehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire.

“People are scared because they are working under a system when they know they could lose their employment at any moment,” he said.

The Unite officers said there have been 110 ambulance callouts to the warehouse, including 38 times when workers complained of chest pains. Five ambulances have been called to Sports Direct’s warehouse in birth and miscarriage related matters, including one worker who gave birth in the toilets.

MPs also heard that some Sports Direct staff are paid through a pre-paid card. Staff are charged £10 to get a card, plus a £10 a month management fee, 75p to use it at an ATM machine, and 10p when they get a text message confirming they have used it.

Richard Fuller, the Conservative MP, said the evidence from Unite was “very disturbing”.

In December, an undercover Guardian investigation revealed that Sports Direct warehouse staff were required to go through searches at the end of each shift, for which their time is unpaid, while they also suffer harsh deductions from their wage packets for clocking in for a shift just one minute late.

The practices contributed to many staff being paid an effective rate of about £6.50 an hour against the then statutory rate of £6.70 – which potentially saved the FTSE 100 firm millions of pounds a year at the expense of some of the poorest workers in the UK.

Turner said there were talks between HMRC and Sports Direct over backpay for staff.

Turner told MPs: “No workers have yet received back pay. We have been in discussions with the company and HMRC. There is an agreement with HMRC and we are currently in the process of balloting our members ... But this only affects employees [and not around 3,000 temporary workers]”.

Unite added that there were around 200 warehouse workers who are employees of Sports Direct, while the more than 3,000 people working in the warehouse are supplied by employment agencies.

On Monday Ashley, who will face the committee later on Tuesday, admitted for the first time to problems with the security procedures at the retailer’s Derbyshire warehouse – as he said the group’s chief executive will forgo a £4m bonus in the wake of the scandal.

In a letter to the sports chain’s 27,000 staff, the billionaire founder of the sports chain acknowledged that there had been issues with searches, while he also revealed that the group’s chief executive, Dave Forsey, will not be taking his four-year share bonus, worth as much as £4m.

Sports Direct had responded to the Guardian’s reports by announcing an internal review of the retailer’s working practices to be led personally by Ashley, plus a pay rise for staff, which the company said would cost it £10m.

MPs on the business, innovation and skills committee have been locked in a battle to get Ashley to attend parliament to answer their questions on working practices at the firm. He had repeatedly refused, despite the MPs formally issuing him with a summons, while he also taunted committee members by calling them a joke.

However, Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United, backed down over the weekend. MPs had indicated they would proceed with plans to potentially have him found in contempt of parliament and seek to trigger a Commons vote on whether the tycoon is a “fit and proper” person to be running a business.

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Q: What is the culture within Sports Direct?

 

There is a culture of fear, says Luke Primarolo. People are scared.

 

People are scared because they are working under a system when they know they could lose their employment at any moment.

 

And he cites the “strikes” which the Guardian exposed last year - such as taking a day off for a sick child or spending too long in the toilet. Six strikes and you’re out.

 

This is making people ill, Primarolo insists, and making workers a danger to themselves and others.

 

He says there have been 110 ambulance call outs, 38 times when workers complained of chest pains.

 

Unite have also found there were five instances of births, miscarriages of pregnancy issues, including one workers who have birth in the Sports Direct toilets.

 

Q: Surely you’re not saying you’d get a strike for giving birth?

 

You can get a strike for being ill too much.

 

 

 

 

The Strikes that can get a Sports Direct worker fired

 

Committee chairman Iain Wright just brandished this table at the agency executives; it shows the various ‘strikes’ that workers can suffer.

 

Offences include “horseplay”, “going AWOL” or “using a mobile phone”.

 

4950.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&f

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I worked for Sports Soccer (which became Sports Direct) when I was at college & it was a horrendous place to work, they'd keep you there over an hour tidying up without pay & threaten to bin you several times a week.

 

This stuff above is an absolute disgrace, the people involved should do time for shit like this & be forced to split their fortune between the people who they are treating like crap.

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Richard Fuller, the Conservative MP, said the evidence from Unite was “very disturbing”. He went on to say that he was "surprised workers were being treated so well".

 

 

Human shit, easy to be so smarmy and cosseted when your being paid astronomical sums for 'advice' or should I say parliamentary influence.

 

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/MP-Richard-Fuller-bags800-hour-jobs/story-21722148-detail/story.html

 

SINCE March last year MP for Bedford and Kempston, Richard Fuller, has earned more than £130,000 for just 162 hours work.

The register of members interests shows that since this time last year the MP was paid £78,125 for 90 hours work as an advisor to Technology Investments Group and Invest Corp International in London and New York.

In addition to his duties as a member of parliament, for which he receives £65,000 a year, Mr Fuller also picked up £29,709 for 36 hours work as a non-executive director of OpSec Security, and £18,750 for 21 hours between May last year and last month as a director at Eviivo in London.

Mr Fuller also bagged a further £5,417 for 15 hours on the job as chairman of Bloomsbury KG Limited and Bloomsbury Home Care Limited.

 

In total for 162 hours work Richard Fuller was paid £132,001, which works out at more than £800 an hour.

The MP is also listed as owning a property in New York which he rents out and owning a home in Warwick.

When asked about his income Mr Fuller said: “I think it is important that MPs continue to be involved in outside activities and I am pleased to be continuing to help small businesses grow in the United Kingdom.

“It is quite right that the public have a scepticism about professional politcians and that they are interested in what MPS do externally. I want people to have all of the information they need.

“I am on the board of directors for some of these companies and so I assist by giving advice on the operating management of the company but the advice I give to them is confidential.”

Bedford Borough Labour Councillor, Carl Meader, said: “It’s obviously been another good year for our MP, but as he has five jobs that’s probably not a surprise. While his constituents are struggling to find one well-paying job, he seems more interested in increasing his bank balance rather than increasing opportunities for those struggling in this recession.”

The Labour group have also raised questions about the Conservative MP’s recent vote in the House of Commons to slash the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p. They have challenged Richard Fuller to reveal whether or not he will personally benefit from the cut and if so, by how much.

Councillor Yasin said: “It seems perverse that Tory MPs with significant personal wealth feel moved to vote for a tax cut and then put up VAT and National Insurance for the rest of us. If Mr Fuller has benefitted financially, then he should donate the same amount to charity as an act of goodwill.”

Last year Bedfordshire on Sunday revealed that between April 2011 and June 2012 the MP bagged £103,000 for around 130 hours work.

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Was working in Shirebrook when this place opened. To say locals weren't best pleased is an understatement seeing as Ashley was given a grant based on solely employing locals. Bet they're probably pleased that they don't work there now that scandalous conditions have been fully revealed.

 

"Coming over here taking our....erm actually you can have the Sports Direct job mate."

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Human shit, easy to be so smarmy and cosseted when your being paid astronomical sums for 'advice' or should I say parliamentary influence.

 

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/MP-Richard-Fuller-bags800-hour-jobs/story-21722148-detail/story.html

 

SINCE March last year MP for Bedford and Kempston, Richard Fuller, has earned more than £130,000 for just 162 hours work.

The register of members interests shows that since this time last year the MP was paid £78,125 for 90 hours work as an advisor to Technology Investments Group and Invest Corp International in London and New York.

In addition to his duties as a member of parliament, for which he receives £65,000 a year, Mr Fuller also picked up £29,709 for 36 hours work as a non-executive director of OpSec Security, and £18,750 for 21 hours between May last year and last month as a director at Eviivo in London.

Mr Fuller also bagged a further £5,417 for 15 hours on the job as chairman of Bloomsbury KG Limited and Bloomsbury Home Care Limited.

 

In total for 162 hours work Richard Fuller was paid £132,001, which works out at more than £800 an hour.

The MP is also listed as owning a property in New York which he rents out and owning a home in Warwick.

When asked about his income Mr Fuller said: “I think it is important that MPs continue to be involved in outside activities and I am pleased to be continuing to help small businesses grow in the United Kingdom.

“It is quite right that the public have a scepticism about professional politcians and that they are interested in what MPS do externally. I want people to have all of the information they need.

“I am on the board of directors for some of these companies and so I assist by giving advice on the operating management of the company but the advice I give to them is confidential.”

Bedford Borough Labour Councillor, Carl Meader, said: “It’s obviously been another good year for our MP, but as he has five jobs that’s probably not a surprise. While his constituents are struggling to find one well-paying job, he seems more interested in increasing his bank balance rather than increasing opportunities for those struggling in this recession.”

The Labour group have also raised questions about the Conservative MP’s recent vote in the House of Commons to slash the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p. They have challenged Richard Fuller to reveal whether or not he will personally benefit from the cut and if so, by how much.

Councillor Yasin said: “It seems perverse that Tory MPs with significant personal wealth feel moved to vote for a tax cut and then put up VAT and National Insurance for the rest of us. If Mr Fuller has benefitted financially, then he should donate the same amount to charity as an act of goodwill.”

Last year Bedfordshire on Sunday revealed that between April 2011 and June 2012 the MP bagged £103,000 for around 130 hours work.

 

Hopefully someone kills him.

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The trio of imbeciles who were put up by the temporary agencies were almost laughable if they weren't such a load of despicable humans. It must be quite difficult to put on straight faces and PR persona's when you've been spending weeks in the office slagging of the workers you employ, calling them all the names under the sun.

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