JD Sports Fashion has begun an investigation into working conditions at a distribution centre in Rochdale after Channel 4 alleged that there were harsh practices at the warehouse in a programme broadcast earlier this week.
“We are deeply disappointed and concerned by the footage broadcast,” the sports retailer said in a statement after seeing a video clip filmed during an undercover investigation in full for the first time.
According to the investigation, conditions at the company’s Kingsway distribution centre in Rochdale were worse than in a prison. It was alleged that workers were threatened with the sack if they sat down; agency workers were in effect paid less than the minimum wage as they were made to queue for up to 30 minutes a day to enter and exit the facility because of security checks; and they were subject to a “three strikes and you’re out” policy for offences that included chewing gum.
JD Sports said of the broadcast: “Whilst we do not believe it to be an accurate reflection of our culture, the vast majority of our people or our standards of practice and procedures, we will be launching an investigation into the implementation of our policies at our Kingsway facility. While we maintain that the procedures in place are robust and fair, it is clear that we need to do better in their implementation.”
The company will retrain all supervisory and security employees at the centre to ensure that its policies are correctly implemented.
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JD Sports insisted that it did not operate a three-strikes policy and said that workers could not be fired on the spot. It also said its attendance system was designed to ensure that all workers were paid for the time it took to negotiate any queue on leaving the site and that it paid all employees in full who were up to 15 minutes late on arrival.
Iain Wright MP, chairman of the business select committee, said he was disgusted by the findings and would be calling company bosses before MPs.
JD Sports said: “We will readily open our doors to an appropriate independent body wishing to scrutinise our operations at Kingsway.” Its shares closed 8¼p higher at 322p.