THOUSANDS of workers at Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse in Derbyshire could be set to receive £1 million in back pay for non-payment of the minimum wage, according to the Unite union.
The payments, back dated to May 2012 for direct employees and agency workers, cover unpaid searches at the end of shifts and could be worth up to £1,000 for some workers, the union estimates.
Workers directly employed by Sports Direct and through the employment agency The Best Connection are expected to start receiving the back pay in full towards the end of August.
However, as many 1,700 Transline agency workers at the site may only initially receive half the back pay they are owed because of the company’s refusal to honour its commitments from when it took over from Blue Arrow at Shirebrook two years ago, says the union.
The back pay follows an admission by retail tycoon Mike Ashley of non-payment of the minimum wage at a recent hearing of the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills (BiS) select committee.
The hearing followed a sustained campaign by Unite and undercover reports by the Guardian and the BBC’s Inside Out team.
Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary, said: “This is a significant victory in Unite’s ongoing campaign to secure justice and dignity at work for workers at Sports Direct.
“But investors and customers alike should not be fooled into thinking that everything is now rosy at Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse. Transline, one of the employment agencies involved, is disgracefully still trying to short-change workers by seeking to duck its responsibilities.”
However, a Transline spokesperson said: “We are making all payments required in full compliance with HMRC.”
Sports Direct have been contacted for a comment.
