7th Jun 2016 11:59
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sports Direct International PLC founder Mike Ashley defended the working practices of the sports clothing and equipment retailer before MPs on Tuesday, saying a review into the UK firm's working practices will "never be completed", but suggested the FTSE 250 company may have outgrown his own ability to manage it.
Ashley was answering questions posed by the UK parliament's Business, Skills & Innovation committee, following press reports late last year which criticised the working practices at the Sports Direct's Shirebrook warehouse.
Reporting by The Guardian newspaper and the BBC both found working conditions at the Shirebrook warehouse in Derbyshire to be poor, with workers too scared to take days off sick as the company would dock pay.
Ashley has led a review of working practices at the company himself and has conceded changes need to be made. In a letter published on Monday ahead of Ashley's appearance, he said he had "identified a need for improvements to our security procedures at Shirebrook" and said these have now been carried out.
That letter also said Sports Direct Chief Executive Dave Forsey will not take up his four-year share bonus, which would have been worth around GBP4.0 million.
Before the committee, Ashley said the review into practices at Shirebrook was "ongoing", adding some of the issues discovered in the company's internal probe were an "unpleasant surprise". He said it was "unacceptable" the company would dock workers 15 minutes' pay if they were one minute late for their shift, one of the concerns which had been cited in The Guardian's investigation. Ashley added he "did not know" who implemented the 15-minute rule or when it was implemented.
He also said too many of Sports Direct's workers are on zero-hours contracts, another criticism frequently levelled at the company. But he said, given the growth of the business, it would not be possible to take on all employees directly.
However, he suggested The Guardian's report of orders being barked out to employees over a tannoy system was a "myth". He added the large number of ambulance call-outs to Shirebrook, reported by the BBC, seemed very high and said it is "impossible" so many incidents occurred at the site.
He added the six-strikes-and-out policy also reported by The Guardian, by which workers can only contravene a set of rules laid out by the company six times before being sacked, was okay if implemented in the correct way.
He also acknowledged some workers were paid below minimum wage "at some point" but said he "hopes" this was addressed by the pay rise the company announced at the end of 2015.
After facing criticism from Luke Primarolo, representing union Unite at the hearing, Ashley said he can do a "better job" for the staff than Unite can.
Ashley added Sports Direct was a victim of its own success, comparing the company to a dinghy which has turned into an oil tanker and said the huge retailer has "probably" outgrown his ability to manage it.
Sports Direct shares were up 2.6% to 373.09 pence Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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