To Dave Forsey (CEO, Sports Direct),
I am writing to you regarding your firm’s unethical employment strategy, which has recently been subject to extensive coverage in the national press.
Sports Direct has been eager to promote an image of itself as a generous and forward-looking employer. Though you are not a registered Living Wage business, you have heavily advertised a very generous share bonus scheme in which your employees are handed nearly £100,000 of shares each simply for working well over the past four years. You work constructively with your staff’s trade union, Unite, and you have a good policy to continue of employment of workers who become disabled. Indeed, Sports Direct’s press office would have us believe that you are a dream employer.
Though I am a somewhat cynical person, I am a fair-minded one, and have expressed on a number of occasions support for your firm’s model of worker-management relations. I take back any such expressions of support, for it has emerged that only 10% of your employees benefit from a fair deal. The part-time staff, which make up the other 90%, are on zero-hour contracts and are excluded from your share bonus scheme. Not only do they get no fixed working hours (or guarantee of any work at all) but they are intelligible for sick pay. That’s 20,000 people who are forced to place family and health needs second to the erratic demands of an exploitative employer. Not even the supermarket chains- and we are all aware how anti-worker such corporations are- dare to treat people with such lack of regard or care.
Currently there is legislation being formulated in Parliament to outlaw zero-hours contracts. It is being recognised that businesses such as yours should not be allowed to shirk their responsibilities to workforces which exhibit the conscientious and loyal mentality that Britain can be proud of. It is easy enough for well-off lawyers and managers to create contracts which leave people with no degree of financial or social security, with precious little reward for accepting this. However, legislation should not be needed. Sports Direct should have the common decency to be ashamed of this breathtakingly unjust exploitation. Sports Direct should feel a sense of responsibility for the workers who make your business what it is; after all a swish publicity campaign such as yours is valueless without staff to serve customers. Sports Direct should act as an honourable and socially responsible member of our society.
In my opinion, the only fair course for Sports Direct to take from this point is to:
- prepare new employment contracts for all staff, guaranteeing them all a minimum number of working hours
- offer fixed shifts to those who want them (I accept that some employees benefit from flexibility in shifts, and they should of course be able to have such flexibility if they want it)
- provide holiday and sick pay to all employees
- give all employees a stake in the share bonus scheme- part time workers are entitled to at least a proportion of the bonuses awarded to full time workers
- apologise for failing to take these steps sooner
Sports Direct is a great innovator in the sportswear market, and many of us value your contribution the the UK economy. We’d merely like you to extend the benefits of your business in a more equitable way to your workers. A business as profitable as yours would easily be able to do so, and would soon see improved productivity as all workers feel themselves to be a true part of the Sports Direct ‘community’.
I look forward to hearing your response to my suggestions.
Yours sincerely,
Jack H. G. Darrant
http://www.thepoliticalidealist.com
If you would like to join me in lobbying Sports Direct to treat their employees fairly, then please visit the campaigning group 38 Degrees’ website to contact their bosses.
