Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Morrisons and Sports Direct

Staff sue Morrisons for not doing enough to prevent data breach

Almost 4,000 workers at Morrisons have launched legal action against the grocer for not doing enough to prevent disgruntled colleague Andrew Skelton from stealing their bank account details and publishing them online.

Skelton was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in July for making bank, salary and national insurance details public and placing it on data sharing websites.

The court also granted other Morrisons’ staff who were affected by the data breach four months to decide whether they wish to join the claim.

Some of those participating in the legal action have left since the leak in 2013.

Morrisons said: "We are contesting this case and not accepting liability for the actions of a rogue individual. We are not aware anybody suffered a financial loss from this breach."

Sports Direct may face questions over working practices at Shirebrook warehouse

Mike Ashley-owned Sports Direct International is set to be questioned over the exposé of working practices at its giant warehouse and distribution centre at Shirebrook, Derbyshire.

A report in The Guardian alleges that staff at the sportswear retailer had sharp cuts in their pay if they reported to work more than a minute late.

The report also claimed that staff had to undergo unpaid 15-minute searches after shifts, meaning that some staff — many of whom hail from eastern Europe and speak poor English — were effectively receiving hourly pay rates of less than the minimum wage.

The newspaper also alleged that staff in the facility were “harangued by Tannoy for not working fast enough” and were banned from wearing 802 clothing brands at work.

The company follows a ‘six strikes and you’re out’ approach, with some examples of strike offences including “horseplay”, “excessive chatting”, “time-wasting” and “wearing branded goods”.