Last checked at 7 Oct 2021 12:57
7 October 2021
J D WETHERSPOON PLC
NEWS RELEASE - CORRECTION
An article by Beth Timmins on the BBC Business website (6 October 2021) gave a highly misleading impression of the so-called 'Gender Pay Gap Report' at Wetherspoon.
The headline said that the "pay gap between men and women fails to improve". The article then said that "some [companies] with the biggest increase in the pay gap towards men… include J D Wetherspoon".
The BBC arrived at this conclusion by reporting on the 52 head office staff who weren't furloughed during the pandemic and ignoring the rest of the 42,768 staff who were on furlough.
In fact, the same calculations were made based on the 42,820 employees who, before the Covid lockdown on 20 March 2020, were working in the company's UK pubs, hotels and the head office. The average pay gap, taking account of all employees, was -0.45%, meaning, on average, women earned more than men at Wetherspoon. This was included in Wetherspoon's Gender Pay Gap Report issued on 10 June 2021 (Wetherspoon Gender Pay Gap Report 10 June 2021).
In the latter part of the article, the BBC referred to the correct position, but many people would have concluded from the headline, and the earlier paragraphs, that Wetherspoon had performed badly.
Wetherspoon Chairman, Tim Martin, said:
"This is an example of highly misleading journalism, which the BBC should not condone. For reasons best known to itself, the BBC has created an article which gives, overall, a negative impression of J D Wetherspoon, which is completely at odds with reality. It is no defence for the BBC to say that the correct information could have been discerned by a reader of the entire article. The way the facts were presented was designed to fool the public."
ENDS
Enquiries:
John Hutson Chief Executive Officer 01923 477777
Ben Whitley Finance Director 01923 477777
Eddie Gershon Company spokesman 07956 392234
Please email any questions to investorqueries@jdwetherspoon.co.uk
Notes to editors
1. J D Wetherspoon owns and operates pubs throughout the UK. The company aims to provide customers with good-quality food and drink, served by well-trained and friendly staff, at reasonable prices. The pubs are individually designed, and the company aims to maintain them in excellent condition.
2. Visit our website: www.jdwetherspoon.com
3. This announcement has been prepared solely to provide additional information to the shareholders of J D Wetherspoon, to meet the requirements of the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. It should not be relied on by any other party, for any other purposes. Forward-looking statements have been made by the directors in good faith, using information available up until the date on which they approved this statement. Forward-looking statements should be regarded with caution, because of the inherent uncertainties in economic trends and business risks.
4. The current financial year comprises 53 trading weeks to 31 July 2022.