Sports Direct faces flak over zero hours contracts

Pressure is mounting on Mike Ashley and his Sports Direct empire over its use of zero-hours contracts for part-time employees as Unite this week demanded a meeting with the billionaire businessman. Politicians, campaigners and charities called on the UK's biggest sports retailer to change its policy after Unite revealed it was using the no-rights contracts for 90 per cent of its workforce. Sports Direct's 20,000 part-time employees - all on zero-hours contracts - make up one in 10 of the total number of workers on such contracts across the UK, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Unite has already lodged a number of tribunal cases on behalf of aggrieved workers. Regional secretary Annmarie Kilcline called on the company to treat its workers with dignity, adding: 'Unite is seriously concerned that a culture of low pay and poor treatment has embedded itself at Sports Direct. Workers are coming to us to report mistreatment so we have begun to compile a dossier to present to senior management cataloguing these concerns.' She said: 'The union was recently shocked to discover allegations that staff at its East Midland's warehouse are often expected to queue for up to 45 minutes to be searched, one-by-one, by the company's security staff as they leave the premises at the end of a long shift.' Ian Murray, shadow business minister for employment relations, called on Sports Direct to address the issues raised and questioned the company's silence. Insecure work has been linked to higher rates of occupational disease and injury, with workers less able to speak up about problems.

• Unite news release. The Guardian. The Independent. More on insecure work and safety.