JD Wetherspoon

Wetherspoon was founded by Tim Martin who set up his first pub in 1979. Wetherspoon now operate over 850 pubs (plus several hotels and Lloyd’s No.1 bars) throughout England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.  Tim Martin remains within the company as Chairman. 

Part of our mission is to be the best company to work for and with our award winning training programmes and apprenticeships we are confident that we can support you to succeed and develop in your role. We employ over 30,000 employees within our pubs and head office teams so can offer fantastic career progression opportunities.  Did you know, all of our pub and area managers have been promoted from within the company.

Our people are our greatest asset – and we are very proud of the recognition which we have received from independent bodies awarding us in this area.  Wetherspoon has been recognised by the Top Employers Institute as a ‘Top Employer United Kingdom’ for 17 consecutive years, including 2020

Pay and reward

We offer competitive hourly rates for all of our team members, but as well as that you can expect:

• A free meal and a drink when you work a four-hour shift
• A 50% discount on food and soft drinks, when working; a 20% discount on all food, drinks and hotel accommodation (for you and up to three guests), when not working
• Bonus scheme – earn up to 19% of your pay.  In the 2019 financial year, Wetherspoon paid £46million in bonuses and free shares to employees.
• Guaranteed (and variable) hours contract are available
• Paid Holiday
• Free Shares (after a qualifying period)
• £1 extra per hour, for hours worked between 12am and 5.59am
• Loyalty reward scheme - additional paid leave is awarded to all employees on completion of five, 10, 15 and 20 years’ continuous service. Additional shares and company pension contributions are awarded to all employees who achieve 25 years’ service and every five years thereafter
• a dedicated employee website/app

 As at the end of our financial year 2019/20, we employed over 30,000 people in our pubs and hotels, in regional roles and at our head office in Watford (Hertfordshire).

In the Republic of Ireland, over 500 people are employed.

For many of our staff, this is their first experience of working.   We provide all the training and skills you need to succeed and develop within your role as well as offering opportunities to gain nationally recognised qualifications with our apprenticeship programme.

The company does not employ anyone below either 16 years of age or the recognised school-leaving age.

Of our hourly paid staff, 96% are employed on a guaranteed-hours contract. A minority of employees prefer the flexibility of a contract with no minimum hours. Where these contracts are used, there is no sole-employer restriction, no obligation on employees to accept the hours offered to them and they receive exactly the same benefits as those on a guaranteed-hours contract.

Training and career opportunities

Our range of training courses motivate our employees and provide them with the necessary skills to confidently carry out their job to a consistently high standard.

We offer our employees learning and development opportunities throughout their career with the company.  Internal progression is our main source of appointing job roles throughout the company. All pub manager and area manager vacancies and most head office roles are filled by internal candidates.

In 2018/2019, we promoted over 600 hourly paid staff to management positions.

Come Join our Team - Apply now!