Wednesday 23 November 2022 10:26 AM Boohoo faces fresh scandal over factory working conditions trends now
Boohoo was today hit by a new worker scandal, with claims that staff at the fast fashion giant's warehouse in Lancashire were made to work in temperatures of up to 32C degrees over 12 hour shifts where they are expected to collect 130 items an hour.
The British company - which is known for its £3 shirts and £4 dresses and enjoys revenues of nearly £2billion a year - has tried to promote its ethical credentials two years after it emerged employees of some of its suppliers in Leicester were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour.
But an undercover newspaper reporter has now made a series of disturbing claims about conditions at its warehouse in Burnley, with staff labelling themselves 'slaves' complaining of racism, sexual harassment and gruelling targets.
A new report has made a series of disturbing claims about conditions at Boohoo's warehouse in Burnley. Pictured is a publicity photo
The tough conditions have led to workers collapsing in the aisles, with an ambulance called to the site once a month on average, The Times reported.
Three quarters of the 59 callouts over the past five years led to the patient being taken to hospital, with four people falling unconscious, fainting or feeling like they were about to pass out in the last financial year alone.
Bohoo said it was taking 'every claim very seriously' but 'does not believe the picture painted is reflective of the working environment' at the warehouse.
The undercover reporter spent a month as a picker at the warehouse in Burnley in August and September.
Staff are paid £11 an hour for shifts of up to 12 hours and the role involves picking up items from many miles of shelving at the direction of a tracking device strapped to the worker's wrist.
After a training period, staff are expected to hit a target of 130 items an hour - more than two a minute - even though some can be several aisles away.
Failure can result in being disciplined by a manager and may ultimately lead to dismissal.
After a hot day earlier this year, a temperature of 32C was recorded inside the warehouse one night, when temperatures outside were around 19C.
While there is no legal maximum limit on workplace temperatures, the GMB union is campaigning for this to be set at 25C, while a former Boohoo member of staff who worked in the warehouse's control room said the heat made work 'unbearable'.
In one exchange reported by The Times, a manager briefing night shift workers said: 'I'm standing here and I'm not moving and already I'm dripping with sweat.'
He was challenged by an employee who said: 'Then give us extra breaks'.
'No, no extra breaks,' the manager said. 'I get it, it is hot. But we still have to perform.'
Boohoo group co-founder Mahmud Kamani seen at an industry event
Graffiti daubed by a worker on the warehouse
