Sports Direct Controversy: English Only

Staff at the sporting goods retailer may only speak English, even in personal conversations, according to a page of its staff handbook. Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has questioned whether this policy applies in Wales, where Welsh is an official language. The Welsh Language Commissioner has opened an investigation.



Welsh people expressed their outrage at this rule, leading to the opening of an investigation.

What do you think of this story/ rule? Should employees be made to speak in English? Or does this rule discriminate against those who are bilingual and might choose to not to use English occasionally?

Implying that people actually speak Welsh in Wales anyway?

"only speak languages belonging to the British Isles.

how does the language "belongs to the British isles" (or any other territory for that matter)?

Staff at the sporting goods retailer may only speak English, even in personal conversations, according to a page of its staff handbook. Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has questioned whether this policy applies in Wales, where Welsh is an official language. The Welsh Language Commissioner has opened an investigation.



Welsh people expressed their outrage at this rule, leading to the opening of an investigation.

What do you think of this story/ rule? Should employees be made to speak in English? Or does this rule discriminate against those who are bilingual and might choose to not to use English occasionally?

Sports Direct..Mike Ashley..billionaire
Employs staff on zero hours contracts who never know how many hours per week they will be working, staff who work a shift have to be on standby in case they are called back on shift, their HQ in Shirebrook had a record number of ambulance call outs to sick staff who did not feel able to tell management they were unwell, staff were searched in their own time before and after shifts to see if they had stolen anything.

SD has the worse staff conditions of any modern day employer and Ashley laughs all the way to the bank.

Here in N Wales we have regularly picketed outside SD stores to draw attention to the appalling way staff are treated and now staff in Wales are unable to even speak among themselves during breaks in their own Welsh language which is prevalent in N Wales in Bangor more so than English.

The man and his company are a downright disgrace and a modern day Victorian sweatshop.

I meant the main languages native to the British Isles, seeing how that's where all their stores are based.

how is English, a language brought here by the Germanic invasion from (modern day) Northern Germany and Denmark, than pidginized (so de facto changed into the other language) by the Danes' invasion; how is that language "native" to Britain?
or do you just mean Celtic languages only?

Puts the SD worker in an awkward position if a customer wants to speak in Welsh though. I suspect the policy is probably due to shop managers worrying their staff are getting away with badmouthing them to their face.

I doubt they genuinely care about Welsh speaking. It's not really what the policy is directed at. I think there is a fairly sizeable number of people who don't like staff in shops chattering in foreign languages - and have probably complained.