Union says use of fingerprint recognition technology in survey system at warehouse means grievances unlikely to be raised

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Sports Direct warehouse staff who say they are unhappy with their working conditions are being identified by their fingerprints and asked to explain their grievances to management, according to the trade union Unite.

The leisurewear company has introduced a staff survey system at its Shirebrook warehouse, Derbyshire, which was at the centre of allegations of “gulag” conditions last year after a Guardian investigation.

When the warehouse’s 3,500 workers clock in, they are asked to press a touchpad featuring a happy or sad face emoji to indicate whether they are satisfied with working conditions.

If they press sad, they are asked whether they are sure about their decision and, if they press it again, they can be called in by managers to discuss why they did so.

Staff can be identified because the touchpad uses fingerprint recognition technology to identify those who express discontent.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Shirebrook warehouse was at the centre of allegations of ‘gulag’ conditions after a Guardian investigation. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Unite said the staff survey system was “bogus” because workers were unlikely to be candid about their feelings if they could then be singled out for questioning.

“Put yourself in their shoes,” said the union’s assistant general secretary, Steve Turner.

“Would you risk having hours withheld, possibly losing your job and being called in by management because you indicated dissatisfaction with your work environment?”

Turner described the survey as “a bogus exercise to gloss over past failures and some of the problems” which he said still persisted at the warehouse.

Frank Field, the Labour MP who chairs of the work and pensions select committee, said an anonymous feedback system would be better.

“All it will reveal is how brave some staff are,” he said. “We ought to extend it to MPs and see how they feel about Sports Direct.”

Shirebrook became the focus of a parliamentary inquiry last year after a Guardian investigation revealed dismal working conditions, including body searches, pay below the minimum wage and constant fear of sacking for minor transgressions.



Unite said conditions were still poor and that the “vast majority” of workers were on contracts that guaranteed no more than 336 hours a year.

“With reports from agency workers of crowded aisles, defective warehouse equipment and products stacked dangerously high, we know that health and safety is still a major cause for concern,” said Turner.

“Gimmicks like using emojis do not escape the fact that Sports Direct’s reliance on thousands of insecure agency workers still poses a reputational risk or that many are still owed money for non-payment of the minimum wage.

“Sports Direct still has a long way to go to clean its act up and risks the charge of ‘business as usual’ until it makes temporary agency workers direct permanent employees.”

Sports Direct said it had put in place multiple ways to protect staff and allow them to provide feedback.

“We believe these comments by Unite do not accurately reflect the position at Sports Direct,” said a spokesperson. “We have a range of different measures in place to protect staff. These include a comprehensive system for staff to provide detailed feedback via an initiative called your company, your voice, plus a workers representative who attends meetings of the board.”

Sports Direct also had a “staff listening group, a staff health and safety committee and a staff wellbeing service”, said the spokesperson.

“Whilst we are disappointed with Unite’s stance we will continue to engage with the union, and we recently contacted Unite on this basis.”