Ex-Missy Empire workers have claimed they faced a toxic culture of bullying and abusive and degrading comments at the fashion retailer.
Speaking to The Guardian, 18 former female staff members claimed they experienced a “toxic” working culture, where young women in particular were targeted with mistreatment by the business’s managing director, Ash Siddique.
The former workers claimed Siddique made degrading comments about models’ body shape and physical appearance and asked staff to model clothes for him.
They also alleged workers were bullied, shouted and sworn at, seven staff members said they were fired without reason, and two workers said they were unable to keep copies of their employment contracts.
Additionally, they claimed the fashion brand’s owners ignored formal complaints.
The workers’ claims are supported by screenshots, emails and testimonies viewed by the Guardian, the publication reported.
The newspaper said it had put all of the claims to the managing director, however he had not responded.
Testimonies provided to the publication indicate the brand’s junior roles are predominantly filled by young female staff and that there is a very high amount of dismissals and departures.
Workers told he Guardian that JD Sports, who bought a majority stake in the business in 2021, and Frasers Group, who purchased this in 2022, were made aware of issues at the retailer, with at least seven emails with seven different complaints sent to their HR since April 2022.
A JD group spokesperson said while it was majority shareholder for 18 months, Missy Empire was “responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, including its own HR procedures,” while Frasers Group failed to respond to a request for comment.
Workers claim Missy Empire’s HR department email address was monitored and controlled by the managing director’s brother, Ish Siddique, who is also co-founder and director, rather than by an HR manager. They said this meant they had nowhere to take their complaints to Frasers Group or JD Sports.
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A contract viewed by The Guardian revealed women were not paid for working overtime.
Lunch breaks were also reportedly unpaid, with staff claiming they had salary deducted if they arrived back late.
The spokesperson for JD Group said Missy Empire staff could “escalate any concerns through JD’s department or whistleblowing policy”.
It added that a “small number of issues” had been formally reported to the company, which were “investigated and addressed” in accordance with its procedures.
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