Sports Direct is facing a multi million pound claim from 300 employees after they were excluded from a bonus scheme offered by the company due to their zero-hour contract status.
The employees were exempt from claiming any bonus from the sports company, which paid out £160 million worth of shares to permanent staff.
The initial compensation claim involved 30 employees of the company, who despite some working for five and a half years for Sports Direct, were not made part of the £160 million bonus scheme.
Whilst the average claim for compensation from the initial claim is around £36,000, the highest claim is believed to be as much as £100,000.
A further 268 employees have since became involved following the initial claims, with the claims potentially costing Sports Direct up to £10 million, and could be concluded in a settlement agreement.
Although some of the workers involved in the case currently still remain employed by Sports Direct, those involved will not be able to penalised or dismissed by the company, or else they could face an unfair dismissal claim.
Whilst it remains to be seen if the case goes to court, the claim could be groundbreaking as it could determine if staff working on long term zero-hour contracts are entitled to bonus schemes, or compensation if they are excluded from perks of permanent contracts.
Sports Direct employ 90% of their staff on zero hour contracts meaning that hours and wages can fluctuate based on demand. Following media pressure, the company were forced to publicly declare what rights employees had on zero hour contracts in regards to holidays and sick leave.
Following a review into zero hour contracts, Vince Cable warned that he planned to ban clauses in zero hour contracts that refused employees the right to accept other opportunities of employment on top of their zero hour contract.
If you require legal advice regarding zero hour contracts or any aspect of employment law, contact our team today for specialist legal advice using our online contact form.
