Tim Martin’s JD Wetherspoon has affixed notices in his 800 pubs, highlighting “false claims” in newspapers and subsequent corrections about the chain.
The cheap and cheerful chain, known affectionately as ‘Spoons’, took issue with articles written in December 2023 and January 2024, about its treatment of staff in the pandemic, and reports he told them to go and work in Tesco instead.
Wetherspoon confirmed to City A.M. the notice had gone up at “each and every” of its more than 800 pubs, initiated by the company. Examples of the posters sent to his paper were seen in Bishop’s Stortford.
In January, the chain said it had a bumper Christmas, but Martin complained about the price of a pint in a supermarket compared to a boozer and the impact it was having on wages.
The notice refers to a number of articles, including two dated 29 December and 30 December 2023, from the Daily Mirror and Daily Record which Spoons said “made inaccurate statements”.
“Wetherspoon wrote to Reach plc, the publisher of both newspapers, which published a correction”.
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“Incorrect statements also appeared in the Independent on 28 December 2023, which has published a correction too
“This is the FIFTH correction published on this issue by the Independent since 2020.”
Martin previously hit out at The Independent as “slow learners” after repeatedly publishing the claim.
Notice put up in Spoons’ more than 800 pubs, noting corrections made by a number of publications.
The notice then lists the correction from the Daily Mirror and Daily Record, which acknowledges that its claim about Tim Martin was unfair.
The papers “suggested his 40,000 staff should go get jobs in supermarkets amid uncertainty, and said he wouldn’t pay staff that weren’t working during the lockdown.”
“This is incorrect. In fact, Mr Martin had said that if staff were offered a job in a supermarket, he would understand if they wanted to take it.”
The notice also said: “We have also been asked to clarify that Mr Martin did not tell staff they would not be paid, and that all Wetherspoon staff were paid during the lockdown. We are happy to clarify this and apologise for the error.”
Another correction on the poster highlights an article from The Independent on 10 January 2024, which “previously said that Mr Martin had suggested his 40,000 staff should go to work at Tesco amid pandemic uncertainty, but this was inaccurate”.
“Wetherspoon has also asked that we clarify that all its staff were paid by Wetherspoon up until point of pub closures, after which staff received furlough pay on an uninterrupted basis without any delay to payment. We are happy to do so.”
When asked for comment, Spoons confirmed the notices went up, and said The Independent has “repeated the same misinformation on five occasions. Tim Martin just thought Enough is enough. Hence the displays in the pubs”.
Reach PLC and the Independent have been asked for comment.