Ted Baker staff demand end to ‘forced hugging’

Staff at the fashion chain have launched a petition against their boss
Ray Kelvin, Ted Baker’s founder, avoids showing his full face in pictures
Ray Kelvin, Ted Baker’s founder, avoids showing his full face in pictures
NEIL HALL/REUTERS

Staff at Ted Baker have alleged that there is a culture of harassment at the fashion retailer as they demanded that their boss stops hugging them.

Ray Kelvin, 62, the founder and chief executive of the high street chain, has been accused of “forced hugging”, making “sexual innuendos at staff” and “stroking people’s necks” in a petition launched by employees.

Kelvin opened his first “Ted Baker” (named after a fictitious alter ego) store in Glasgow in 1988 and went on to become one of Britain’s most successful, and eccentric, retail tycoons. He failed his maths O-level but is now worth £522m according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

The company says hugs are “part of Ted Baker’s culture, but are absolutely not insisted upon”. The