7th Jun 2016 05:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sports Direct International PLC Chief Executive Dave Forsey will forgo his four-year share bonus, company founder Mike Ashley said in a letter published on Monday ahead of his appearance before a UK parliamentary committee.
Ashley is set to appear before the Commons Business, Innovation & Skills committee on Tuesday to defend working practices at the sports clothing and equipment retailer's Shirebrook warehouse.
Ahead of that appearance, Ashley sent a letter to the company's staff, saying he intends on "defending the good name" of Sports Direct before the committee, adding he will do this as he believes "we have nothing to hide".
Ashley thanked employees for their contribution to the company and said he was proud of the thousands of jobs the group has created and the tax it has paid since floating publicly in 2007.
He also said all workers at Sports Director are paid hourly rates above the national minimum wage and said its share bonus scheme is available to all full-time employees, not only senior management.
However, Ashley said, he said he has "identified a need for improvements to our security procedures at Shirebrook" and said these have now been carried out. Those procedures were the focus of a Guardian article critical of Sports Direct that was published in December.
Ashley also said it had been a "difficult year" for Sports Direct and, on this basis, said Forsey will not take up his four-year share bonus, which would have been worth around GBP4.0 million.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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