Labour provider Transline has hit back against claims by Parliament’s Business, Innovation and Skills Committee that it “deliberately misled” the committee when providing evidence on working practices at retailer Sports Direct.

The Committee’s claims were published in a report this morning, and follows on from Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, Transline chief executive Chris Kirkby and finance director Jennifer Hardy, and The Best Connection (TBC) CEO Andy Sweeney appearing before the committee last month.

At that meeting the committee also heard evidence from union Unite representatives Steve Turner and Luke Primarolo, who claimed workers at a Sports Direct distribution site in Shirebrook, Derbyshire were so scared of losing their jobs they were coming to work heavily pregnant and unwell.

Transline finance director Jennifer Hardy told the committee the company had supplied workers to a pizza factory under a Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) licence but this had lapsed through an administrative error and not been revoked.

However, though the GLA confirmed that after the licence had lapsed, the authority added that Transline’s application to secure a new licence had been refused.

(Editor’s note: it was the lapse in the licence that ultimately led to Recruiter nullifying a Recruiter Award that had been awarded to Transline in 2014.)  

The report adds the committee believed Transline "deliberately misled the committee in their evidence", which could be considered contempt of Parliament. The committee has invited Transline to respond, within two weeks of the date of this report’s publication, to explain how their evidence was not deliberately misleading, before it considers what further steps to take.

A spokesperson for Transline Group said no incorrect or misleading information was given, adding it will respond to the committee on any and all issues raised within the report within the two week deadline stipulated. 

“Transline remains committed to ensuring a safe working environment and fulfilling its duty of care to our employees,” the spokesperson said.

The report also concluded the advent of the internet is not a good enough reason for retailer Sports Direct to use recruitment agencies to supply most of its workforce.

Among the report’s other findings were:

•That representatives of both Transline Group and TBC gave "woefully poor, and in some cases, incorrect, evidence"

•That the agencies' six strikes policy – whereby an employee is sacked if they receive six strikes – "gives the management unreasonable and excessive powers to discipline or dismiss at will"

•That the way in which Sports Direct business model operates involves treating workers "as commodities rather than as human beings"

•That while the working practice of deducting 15 minutes of pay for clocking in one minute late on arrival, or on return from a break, has been changed and now rounds up in segments of five minutes; for example, if a person is four minutes late, they will lose five minutes of pay, the committee found this still seems "ungenerous" and recommended Ashley considers rounding down so workers are not punished if they are four minutes or less late.

The committee called on Ashley and the agencies to review the health & safety provisions in the Shirebrook warehouse and report back to the committee. Bolsover District Council and the Health and Safety Executive have also been encouraged to "take a more active role" in ensuring provisions are being adhered to.

Ashley was also urged to lead a review into his corporate governance arrangements to improve the running and reputation of Sports Direct.

Commenting on the report, a spokesman for Sports Direct said: “We will study the contents of the committee’s report very carefully. It is our policy to treat all our people with dignity and respect. We are pleased to see that the committee has recognised Mike Ashley’s commitment to engage in addressing any shortcomings in the working practices at Sports Direct.”

In December last year The Guardian highlighted Transline and TBC for their relationships with Sports Direct that were said to lead to breaches of employment legislation.

The Guardian reported at the time on Sports Direct’s practices following an undercover investigation at its distribution plant in Shirebrook, Derbyshire.

Among the findings of the investigation were:

• Docked wages for those arriving late to their shift, leading to pay cheques below the minimum wage

• A 'six strikes' policy, whereby anyone receiving six strikes in six months has their employment terminated. Strikes can be given for matters such as excessively long toilet breaks and using a mobile phone in the warehouse

• Daily searches by security staff to ensure no items were stolen

• A strict clothing policy, including a list of 802 banned brands.

The firm’s six strikes policy came under scrutiny in October last year from the BBC’s Inside Out programme.

Recruiter also contacted TBC for comment but had not heard back by deadline.

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