About J D Wetherspoon plc
J D Wetherspoon (Wetherspoon) owns and operates more than 780 pubs and 18 hotels throughout the UK. It aims to provide a friendly and comfortable drinking atmosphere in its pubs, serving good-quality, competitively priced food all day. Based in Watford, the company employs around 24,000 staff across the business.
“I had a year off after just five years at Wetherspoon”
“I was really privileged to go on a yearlong sabbatical and the company was really supportive. When I spoke to friends in the US and Canada they asked ‘what are you doing here’ and I told them I had a year off after just five years at Wetherspoon and my old job would still be there at the end of it, they were completely amazed.
“For the first two weeks it was a bit of a culture shock; then the emails came thick and fast and now I’ve got a beer festival to organise. It’s all bedding back in nicely. But what a policy! I don’t know any other company that is as generous.”
Jonathan Yates, marketing manager, joined six years ago