Sports Direct Agrees To Back Pay Worth £1m

Sports Direct has agreed to grant thousands of workers back pay totalling around £1m following the admission that the company had not been paying the minimum wage.

The deal was struck between Sports Direct, HMRC and the Unite Union and will grant workers pay dating back to May 2012.

Both agency workers and contracted staff who are employed at the company's Shirebrook warehouse in Derbyshire will be reimbursed, with some expected to receive up to £1,000.

The deal comes after Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley admitted to MPs that his company had subjected workers to searches after the end of their shifts, during which they were not paid for their time.

That therefore pushed their pay below the minimum wage.

Employees were also docked 15 minutes' worth of pay for clocking in even 1 minute late for a shift - although there was no overpay should they stay late.

The company faced an inquiry by MPs after a Guardian investigation shone a light on the working conditions at the plant.

Workers at the Shirebrook warehouse are employed either directly by Sports Direct or through one of two employment agencies, The Best Connection and Transline.

While those hired by Sports Direct or The Best Connection are expected to receive their back pay towards the end of this month, many of those employed by Transline may face a longer wait.

According to the Unite union, which announced the news on Monday, Transline's 1,700 workers at the warehouse may only initially receive half of the pay they are owed as the company is refusing to cover unpaid wages from before it took over the worker's contracts two years ago.

Commenting on the deal Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said it was a "significant victory in Unite's ongoing campaign to secure justice and dignity" for those working at Sports Direct.

He said: "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."

The HMRC declined to comment on the specifics of the deal, but said that they "won't accept anything less than what's owed".

"Our role is to investigate all cases where we believe an employer is not paying its workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to ensure those workers receive what they are owed under the law," a spokesperson said.

Sports Direct have yet to comment on the deal.