“Boohoo links £150m bonus scheme to changes in factory conditions”, 19 May 2021

Boohoo has bowed to pressure from shareholders and linked a £150m bonus scheme for its top managers to improvements in conditions at the factories it uses.

The company said that the board would have the power to reduce the pay out to 15 key managers … if the group’s Agenda for Change programme was not implemented in full. The changes include establishing a whistleblowing system and responsible sourcing plan as well as publishing the names of all factories used by Boohoo worldwide.

Under the controversial scheme introduced last year, Kamani and Kane are both due to receive £50m, a third each of the total bonus, if Boohoo’s market valuation – at £4bn currently – reaches just over £7.5bn by June 2023.

The committee also appeared to admit that it had been wrong to implement the expensive bonus scheme last year without seeking approval from shareholders, a move which broke the UK corporate governance code…

On Wednesday, Boohoo’s remuneration committee said that comments from shareholders had been “instrumental in informing the changes that we have made”…

Boohoo promised to improve conditions in the supply chain feeding its online retail empire last year after revelations about poor pay and conditions particularly in Leicester where the group sources about 40% of its fashions.