Sports Direct 'totally refutes' claims made by concerned Shirebrook worker amid coronavirus crisis

The staff member contacted the Derbyshire Times and the Mansfield Chad with a number of work-related concerns during the current crisis.

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They said: “Everyone is still working, the car park is rammed, the cafeteria is ignoring all social distancing rules and the body searches are still taking place every 15 minutes.

“It’s disgusting.”

A spokesperson for Sports Direct responded: “We totally refute the claims being made.

“Since the outbreak of the coronavirus the management team at Shirebrook have introduced a series of measures designed to protect our entire workforce and actively enforced them.”

On Tuesday, Sports Direct – which is owned by billionaire businessman Mike Ashley – performed a u-turn on keeping its stores open during the coronavirus lockdown.

After the Government ordered all UK shops selling non-essential goods to close, Sports Direct initially said it would remain open as it was ‘uniquely well placed to help keep the UK as fit and healthy as possible’.

But after widespread criticism, it subsequently said it would not open ‘until we are given the go-ahead by the Government’.

The company also came under fire for bringing in online price rises – some as much as 50 per cent – on its sports equipment.

However, the high street chain played down the increases on Tuesday, insisting that the affected products had previously been heavily discounted and were still being sold for less than their recommended retail price.

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