Sports Direct suffers PR setback over use of zero hour contracts
Sports Direct has come under fire over its embrace of so-called zero hour contracts, a form of employment contract which offers far fewer rights than standard employment.
All 20,000 part time staff at the retailer have been put on such contracts, meaning they are entitled to no holiday or sick pay and are subject to an uncertain rota week in, week out.
This contrasts sharply with the fortunes of the 3,000 full time staff at the firm, who each enjoy generous bonus payments worth more than £70k next month alone.
Andy Sawford, Labour MP for Corby, a chief critic of the government scheme, told the guardian: “It would be much better for Sports Direct to instead of offering bonus gimmicks, they should offer their staff the security of proper contracts.
"The zero-hours contracts are highly exploitative and suit the company because it keeps people in a fragile state where they are at the beck and call of their employers."