An ex-employee of a professional football club who was forced to work long hours has accused the club of violating the Modern Slavery Act.
A report from The Guardian states that the London South Employment Tribunal will hear a claim for unfair dismissal by a former Crawley Town FC kitman and age discrimination. Pete Reynolds claimed he had been asked to work for the practical purpose of 100 hours per week without any additional pay. He would have earned well below the minimum wage.
The claim form names the Football Association and English Football League as co-respondents. It states: “Their inaction and allowing this practice to continue allowed Crawley Town FC, and others, to exploit their employees.” Crawley Town FC, the FA, and the EFL have until the 11th of February to respond.
Crawley Town is believed to have denied all wrongdoing.
According to the Guardian, the FA was understood to view the claim as an employment issue that fell under private employment. Therefore, there is no legal basis to bring a case against them. However, Reynold’s legal team will argue that the governing authority has a responsibility to prevent exploitative practice.
A source familiar with the case told a newspaper that “the FA has a responsibility to care for those who are employed by their partner organizations.”
Reynolds claims that Crawley instructed him to “work excessive hours without extra pay”, which would mean “having work below the minimum wages threshold”.
In his claim, he will allege that age (he is 62) was a factor for the termination of employment.
In November of this year, Reynolds’s kitman who shared his duties with him left the club. Reynolds claims that the head of football operations informed him he’d have to take on additional responsibilities without receiving any extra pay. Reynolds complained that this would lead to an impossible workload. Later, he received an email telling him that the club had accepted his resignation.
Reynolds stated that continuing to work on the basis envisioned by the football director meant working 12-hour days seven days a weeks and traveling a lot, all without receiving extra pay.
The Modern Slavery Act of 2015 states that employees are not contractually obliged to work over 48 hours per week, and overtime is only available on an optional basis. “Forced or mandatory labour is prohibited.”
Reynolds filed a formal complaint but claimed that he hadn’t heard back from the club despite being paid his final salary for one month and nine days of holiday pay. He claimed he had not received a redundancy pay and had not yet been sent a P45.
When contacted by The Guardian, the club declined to make any comments.
Crawley Town Football Club is owned by US-based cryptocurrency traders.
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