The Guardian view on Sports Direct: a bad business | Editorial

The surveillance culture confronting the low-wage workforce at one retailer is disturbing. It is also a symbol of much that is wrong with the British way of business

Cogs in the machine would be the cliche, but that really doesn't capture the disdain of Sports Direct towards its workers. The staff, who sometimes arrive on day one clutching letters from employment agencies about just how readily they can be sacked, would better be described as disposable kit.

Some in blue jackets marshal the movements of others in yellow jackets around a Derbyshire warehouse, and neither caste is allowed to wear any of the brands sold by the firm - because it doesn't trust the staff not to steal. Slipping inside this panopticon, the Guardian uncovered a surveillance culture, with sticklerish clocking-in, intrusive searches and a disciplinary system where an unduly long trip to the loo can earn one of the black marks that tot up to dismissal. The dead time involved in turning out pockets, plus penalties for minor lateness, drags effective pay below the minimum wage. If staff are pushed to the point where stealing can become a temptation, then there are going to be costs in policing the risk. The staff end up shouldering some of these.

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