Wetherspoon accused of not paying workers

A workers' campaign group said the pub operator had told employees it would only pay them for hours worked until 22 March after the government ordered bars, restaurants and other venues to shut.

"From that point on we will not receive any payment from JDW until they receive a government grant, which could be until the end of April," the SpoonStrike group tweeted. "Wetherspoons have left over 40,000 people without their next pay date with no means of paying for rent, bills or food and no warning."

Announcing plans to pay up to 80% of workers' wages last week the government urged companies not to cut jobs and to pay their staff. Wetherspoon said the company was being misrepresented but its initial statement did not clear up whether workers would be paid until government sent support.

In a later statement Chairman Tim Martin said unlike giant companies such as McDonald's and Costa Coffee, owned by Coca-Cola, Wetherspoon did not have the money to pay its workers before the government's scheme took effect.

“Most companies, including Wetherspoon, do not have the resources, while pubs are shut, to make this commitment and need to see details of the scheme in order to retain and pay staff, as the government has sensibly requested, rather than instigating large-scale layoffs," Martin said. “That may seem stark, but that’s the economic reality of the unprecedented situation in the UK today."

Rachel Reeves, who chairs the House of Commons business committee, said the company's alleged action was unacceptable. "If bosses disregard employees' wellbeing then government should take tougher action to force compliance," she tweeted.

Martin, whose wealth is estimated at about £500m, has described the coronavirus crisis as a "health scare" and criticised the government for its shutdown of business activity to stop the virus's spread.

Wetherspoon also denied that Martin told employees to work for Tesco instead. It said he told employees supermarkets needed staff urgently because all trade from pubs, restaurants and cafes had moved to supermarkets.

“Tim Martin said in the video that staff who wanted to work for Tesco should do so and they will be given first priority when Wetherspoon pubs reopen," Wetherspoon said. “Wetherspoon has had urgent calls from supermarkets asking for help in recruitment."