Wetherspoon to spend £11m on safety for pubs' reopening

JD Wetherspoon said it would spend an initial £11m on measures to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection when its pubs are allowed to reopen.

The FTSE 250 company said it would employ at least two full-time staff at each of its 875 pubs to clean surfaces and touch points. Employees will be given gloves, masks and eye protectors, though they will not be compulsory, and each put will have on average 10 hand sanitisers.

Staff will have their temperatures taken each day and employees will monitor pubs at all times to make sure social distancing rules are in place. Screens will be used to separate seating areas if there is not enough space for social distancing between tables.

Wetherspoon pubs will serve a reduced food menu and condiments will come in sachets instead of bottles. The government has said pubs could reopen on 4 July at the earliest if the UK meets targets to suppress the virus.

Customers will be asked to use Wetherspoon's app to order and pay or to pay at the bar using a card or contactless, though cash will be accepted. Staff will hand over drinks using the base of the glass.

The extensive measures are a turnaround from the company's position earlier in the crisis when Chairman Tim Martin described the pandemic as a "health scare" and said the government should keep pubs open and adopt a herd immunity strategy.

Wetherspoon's Chief Executive John Hutson said the company had spent weeks consulting employees and suppliers and referring to health guidelines. Staff made more than 2,500 suggestions.

“At present the government have not confirmed any reopening date for pubs," Hutson said. "However, it is important that we are prepared for any announcement. The safety of our staff and customers is paramount.”

The British Beer & Pub Association has called on the government to halve the UK's two-metre social distancing rule, arguing many pubs would struggle to survive under those conditions.