Sports Direct employee turnover rate 3 times higher than average

Sports Direct's reputation has received yet another blow, as its annual report has shown the UK's largest sporting goods retailer struggles to hold onto staff.

The retailer's staff turnover rate rose by more than three percentage points last year to 22 percent according to its annual report - a figure which is nearly three times higher than the national average turnover rate of 8 percent for UK employers. Sports Direct figures include members of staff employed at its head office as well as its store managers, which highlights criticism the retailer received earlier this year during a parliamentary inquiry.

Mike Ashley, founder and majority shareholder of Sports Direct was found to be running the retailer in a manner that "closer to that of a Victorian workhouse than that of a modern, reputable high street retailer", and is accused of building his success on a business model which treats workers "without dignity or respect," during the inquiry last month.

The increasing staff turnover rate will undoubtedly put more pressure on Mike Ashley, as Sports Direct share price has dropped more than 60 percent over the last year due to concerns over the retailer's treatment of its workers.

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