AFTER months of bad publicity, a humiliating appearance before MPs and a shareholder revolt, Sports Direct has finally begun to address the way it treats its workforce.

The company has abolished the hated zero-hours contracts for its directly employed casual staff, apologised for conditions at its Shirebrook warehouse and admitted “serious shortcomings” in working practices.

After months of ignoring all criticism, Mike Ashley, the billionaire controlling shareholder, knew he had to act to head off growing disquiet among independent investors at the group’s annual general meeting.

It wasn’t enough to prevent a majority of independent shareholders voting to dump chairman Keith Hellawell, who still enjoys Mr Ashley’s full support and therefore survives – for now.

Sadly, Sports Direct is far from the only British company making maximum profits from a hard-pressed and poorly paid workforce – merely the most visible.

In the eyes of the law, it has done nothing wrong – and that is the problem.

Britain’s employment laws are no longer fit for purpose. Workers on zero-hours contracts have no job security and no support if they are sick or need to take time off.

Large chunks of the economy now depend on casual workers and agency staff who earn the minimum wage.

Welcome to Breadline Britain where you have a job, but no life beyond simply existing. In-work poverty is on the rise.

This is a damning indictment of Government policy and decades of employment deregulation.

Yes, British businesses need to be lean and mean in order to compete in a global economy – but not at the expense of the workforce.

The workhouse is one Victorian value we should all be happy to see consigned to history.