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Amazon UK, the biggest UK online retailer, has attracted criticism this week for the poor working conditions in one of its 4 UK fulfilment centres. The article in the Sunday Times claimed that workers were penalised for taking time off when sick, were forced to work overtime shifts and were set unreasonable performance targets. The workers are also asked to pay £8.50 per day for transport to and from the site.In order to meet delivery targets in the run up to Christmas, Amazon uses a large number of agency workers from Quest Employment. Although the workers in question are unlikely to be the direct responsibility of Amazon, they are managed by Amazon staff and appear to be working under Amazon’s rules whilst in the workplace.  

The Sunday Times article states that there was ‘no suggestion’ that Amazon was breaking the law. However, penalising workers for being sick appears to be against the spirit of the law; especially when you consider that workers should be allowed to self-certify their sickness in the first 7 days. Workers should also be subject to disciplinary procedures and official warnings, which are not detailed in the article. In addition, the law specifically states that workers should receive 48 hours’ rest (2 x 24 hour periods) in every 14 days. Furthermore, in Impactt’s experience, the transport charges imposed by the employment agency are excessive.

Although the Amazon business model relies on electronic ordering and payment processes, costs must also be managed by ensuring that efficiencies are gained in the despatch process. It is easy to forget that the ease of internet shopping, allowing shoppers to avoid the bustling high street, relies on real people doing jobs which are often extremely demanding.  As one worker quoted in the Sunday Times article stated: “I will never be able to look at amazon.com in the same way ever again without thinking, ‘Those poor bastards – what they go through’.”