ASDA has come under fire from shoppers after an employee claimed to have been sacked by the supermarket after a 13-year stint, for refusing to sign an "outrageous" new contract.
People on Twitter shared their outrage and 'disgust' after former worker Duncan Carson revealed he'd been asked to sign the contract "agreeing to work whatever days, hours and Bank holidays that suits them that week" by a store where he lives in Stoke-On-Trent.
Unhappy with the request, Duncan decided he'd rather quit and is planning on taking the supermarket giant, owned by US company Walmart, to an employment tribunal.
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His tweet quickly went viral and the hashtag 'Boycott Asda' began trending.
"At midnight I was sacked by Asda after 13 years. Not for doing anything wrong but for refusing to sign a new contract agreeing to work whatever days, hours and Bank holidays that suits them that week," he wrote.
"Not asked, told. Sign it or you're fired. Are you next?"
Shoppers were quickly to join Duncan in solidarity, with some threatening to boycott the supermarket.
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"I'm due to go to my local @Asda on Friday & do a shop which normally I spent around £400. I won't be doing that now. Another supermarket will have my custom. 'Boycott Asda' is trending, says enough. This decision will come back to bite you in the arse @AsdaServiceTeam. Very silly," wrote one shopper.
"Disgraceful. We don't generally shop in Asda but will absolutely never shop there again as long as they continue to bully their employees this way," wrote another disgruntled person.
"Outrageous & shouldn't be allowed to happen... same old story, money first people 2nd #boycottasda," claimed another.
One angry customer wrote: "My family are now blacklisting Asda. Hopefully they will pay for this dearly through both courts and loss of market share #BoycottAsda."
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ASDA says in the new contracts workers will be given four weeks' notice of their working patterns, and deny workers will be asked to make changes at short notice.
The supermarket also states it is one of the last of the big retailers to introduce this kind of contract.
So far 120,000 workers have signed the contract with fewer than 300 who have chosen not to.
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ASDA has also increased basic pay from £8.21 to £9 per hour, and will be increasing it again to £9.18 in April, following an £80m investment into pay.
An Asda spokesperson said: "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.
"We do not want anyone to leave us as a result of this necessary change and so we have written to the fewer than 300 colleagues who have not signed the contract to offer a little more time to sign up and continue to work with us, should they wish.
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"Whilst retail as a whole is under continued pressure, we will do all we can to ensure we have a sustainable business for our customers, our colleagues and the communities we serve."
Featured Image Credit: PA
