News in the Industry
ASOS has refuted fresh accusations made in a new report about the working conditions in its South Yorkshire factory.
ASOS Responds To Allegations
The report by BuzzFeedNews alleges that employees in the online retailer's Barnsley warehouse are subject to "highly pressurised conditions", with high targets discouraging them from taking water or toilet breaks; "exploitative contracts", which allow shifts to be cancelled with no notice and employees to be sent home without pay, and assignments to be ended due to illness; and "an overbearing security regime".
"There have been a number of allegations about the working conditions at our warehouse in Barnsley that are inaccurate, misleading or based on out-of-date information," a spokesperson for the brand told us today. "This upsets us, but more importantly, it upsets the people who work there. Those who seek to portray the warehouse as an awful place to work never mention the positive work we do in conjunction with XPO, like the 50 different learning and development programs offered, free mental health support and awareness training, subsidised food in a newly renovated canteen, or the £3 million spent on a cooling system to keep the temperature down during the summer. Ultimately, ASOS and XPO both care deeply about our people and that's why we have chosen to partner with them."
Last month, ASOS denied similar concerns raised by MP Owen Smith about the Barnsley warehouse. The Pontypridd MP made the claims in a letter to fellow politician Ian Wright - chairman of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee - likening the online fashion retailer to sportswear company Sports Direct, which was recently investigated for poor working conditions.
"As we have now said on the record several times before - we don't do zero-hours contracts, people can take toilet and water breaks whenever they want, and we pay above minimum wage," a brand spokesperson told us at the time.