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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
World
Saffron Otter & Carly Odell

Shoppers boycott Asda after employees asked to sign 'disgusting' contract

Asda has faced criticism on social media after an employee shared details about the new contract and why he refused to sign it.

The supermarket giant has asked workers across the country to sign 'Contract 6' which takes paid breaks and rota flexibility away.

But one employee, Duncan Carson, refused to sign the contract and claims he was fired because of it.  

And he's not alone as Asda workers across the country are still deciding whether or not to sign 'Contract 6'.

While employees will be paid higher wages, staff say they will no longer be given paid breaks, long service holidays will be lost and rota flexibility is being taken away, ManchesterEveningNews reports.

On Twitter, Duncan described the contract as "agreeing to work whatever days, hours and bank holidays that suits them that week" - something that Asda says 'is not true.' 

He said he was 'not asked, but told' to sign it or he'd be fired. 

Asda initially gave its workers until midnight on Saturday to agree to the new terms, but has since extended the deadline by a week. 

An Asda spokesperson said that "fewer than 300 colleagues" are yet to sign the contract and they have written to those individuals. 

The ex-baker's tweet has since accumulated 2.7k retweets and 3.8k likes, resulting in shoppers wanting to boycott the retailer.

Asda workers went on strike last month to oppose the controversial new contract. (Amy Murphy/PA Wire)

"I don’t know anyone working for Asda but I've decided to boycott them. It’s disgusting treating people like this!" said one Twitter user. 

Another said they'll 'never' shop there again over the treatment of their staff. 

Others responded to the 'irony' of Asda's tweet about Stress Awareness Day, which encouraged people to 'take some time for yourself' - which has since been deleted. 

An Asda spokesperson said: "Following a robust, fair and extensive consultation process, we're pleased that almost 120,000 of our retail colleagues are now working on the same contract, with the same terms and conditions and the same enhanced benefits package, including an increased hourly rate.

"This contract is about fairness for all our colleagues and moves us in line with our competitors.

"We have always been clear that we understand people have responsibilities outside of work and we will always help them to balance these with their work life; we will not be asking them to constantly move the time they work, their days or departments".

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