Wetherspoons | Tim Martin is a lesson in bad comms - here's why

JD Wetherspoon Founder and Chairman Tim Martin is something of a controversial figure within leadership. Whilst the hospitality magnate was instrumental in growing the Wetherspoons chain to over 925 pubs within the UK and Ireland, his outspoken beliefs and provocative statements have consistently landed him in hot water with both is own staff and the public.

A prime example of this came about in March 2020, when Martin faced public backlash and a national boycott after he released a video message addressing Wetherspoons’ 40,000 UK workers advising them to “go work at Tesco” whilst the pub chain closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The video followed several comments made by Martin to the media indicating that he was not an advocate of the Government’s reaction the pandemic and the subsequent closure of the hospitality industry, something he has since spoken about numerous times.

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And this is far from the first time Martin has caused a media furore for his beliefs; in January of the previous year, staff protested being “forced to distribute propaganda in favour of a hard Brexit,” as one anonymous worker told Inews.