Times22 Nov 2022 18:57
Accessibility LinksSkip to contentMENUtuesday november 22 2022TIMES INVESTIGATIONInside the Boohoo warehouse where workers call themselves slavesnewClaims of racism and sexual harassment at fast-fashion brand’s Burnley depotPlay VideoBilly Kenber, Senior Investigations Reporter | Tom Ball, Northern Correspondent | Video by Federica De Caria and Olivia ColesTuesday November 22 2022, 5.00pm, The TimesWorkers at the fashion giant Boohoo are forced to walk the equivalent of a half-marathon per shift in a sweltering warehouse in which night-time temperatures can reach 32C, an undercover Times investigation has found.Staff fulfilling online orders at the retailer’s warehouse in Lancashire label themselves “slaves” and have complained of racism, sexual harassment, gruelling targets, inadequate training and ill-fitting safety equipment. The harsh conditions have led to workers collapsing in the aisles, with an ambulance called to the site once a month on average.The British company, which enjoys sales of nearly £2 billion a year, spends millions of pounds on celebrity endorsers including Kourtney Kardashian and has sought to burnish its eco-friendly, ethical credentials since a 2020 scandal over the illegally low wages of some suppliers in Leicester. In response, Boohoo pledged that year to clean up its supply chain, subsequently cutting ties with hundreds of manufacturers.In the run-up to Black Friday this week, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, our investigation raises new concerns about the workplace conditions endured by people directly employed by the company:• An undercover reporter who spent a month as a picker at Boohoo’s largely windowless distribution warehouse in Burnley in August and September recorded temperatures of up to 32C during a night shift at a time when the outside temperature was just 19C.ADVERTISEMENT• The reporter walked up to 13 miles a shift, more than three times the average amount the company has previously claimed staff cover.• Staff complained they are treated as “fodder”, with managers timing their lavatory breaks and no allowances made for injuries they said they had suffered as a result of the manual work.• ****stani workers were reportedly told by a white marshal to work in the hottest area of the warehouse while white staff were sent to a cooler area.• Workers also complained of instances of sexual harassment. In one case, an alleged victim of sexual assault who reported the incident was accused by a manager of lying. A gagging order prevents her from discussing what happened, The Times has learnt.SPONSOREDWork at a Boohoo warehouse is grinding, physically demanding and monotonous, as a reporter from The Times discovered when he spent a month working undercover as a picker earl
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