Sports giant denies TV claims about ‘sack’ regime
LEISURE and sports retailer JD Sports has hit back after Channel 4 News carried out an undercover investigation into working practices at the firm’s huge distribution and order depot on Kingsway Business Park.
The footage – aired on Tuesday night – captures conversations between staff working there and undercover reporters.
JD Sports and recruitment agency Assist Recruitment issued a statement in which they ‘categorically denied’ the channel’s claims, saying many of them ‘simply weren’t true’.
One man, believed to be a worker, says on the clip that he has ‘sacked people for sitting down’.
A second voice, thought to be a Channel 4 reporter, asks him: “You sack people for sitting down?” The voice responds: “Yes.”
Another worker tells the reporter: “You get strikes. You get three strikes, you get sacked.”
The programme says hundreds of minimum wage workers are ‘pushed to their limit’.
The clip goes on to show a worker peeling labels off a sheet as a man shouts in the background: “I want to see your arms moving. As fast as you can, yeah.”
One worker, who is believed to be talking to one of the reporters, is heard outlining what it takes to constitute a ‘strike’.
He responds ‘chewing gum, matches, lighters, mobile phones’ and goes on to claim that even wearing a ‘designer watch’ would constitute a member of staff receiving a ‘strike’.
A female voice, believed to be a reporter, asks if she can work while sitting on a box if she gets tired.
She’s told by a man on the clip: “No. No sitting down. No. You get fired.”
But in a statement released after the broadcast, the firm said a number of Channel 4’s claims ‘are simply not true’.
They ‘categorically denied’ that a ‘strike’ system was in operation and said workers couldn’t ‘get fired on the spot’.
The joint statement from JD Sports and Assist Recruitment was issued ‘in response to untrue claims by Channel 4’.
It said: “A number of Channel 4’s key claims are simply not true. Most importantly, we categorically do not operate a ‘strike’ system and our workers cannot get fired ‘on the spot’.
“We have a fully outlined disciplinary procedure and appeal process based on the ACAS code of practice.
“Furthermore, our time and attendance system is specifically designed to ensure that all workers from both companies are paid for the time it takes to go through security on leaving the site; and we pay all employees in full who are up to 15 minutes late on arrival.
“It is very disappointing that Channel 4 have not taken account of our detailed response, including factual evidence, which clearly stated this.”
The programme included staff commenting that conditions inside the warehouse are ‘worse than a prison’ and the channel said its investigation found staff were ‘routinely threatened by supervisors’. In an earlier statement, the firm said it was ‘ready and willing’ to investigate the claims but added: “We are deeply disappointed and concerned by the allegations being made which we believe are misleading and not an accurate reflection of our culture, the vast majority of our people or our standards of practice and procedures. Indeed, we believe a large number of the allegations put to us by Channel 4 are plainly untrue.”
Founded in 1981, the Bury-based company has around 700 stores covering both sports and branded fashion.
The Kingsway Business Park site is believed to supply all JD Sports stores in the UK and abroad and currently employs around 1,500 workers, operating 24 hours-a- day.