New boss pledges to respect his staff

STAFF at the advertising empire founded by Sir Martin Sorrell were told yesterday that they should ‘expect to be treated with respect’ following his departure.

New boss Mark Read said the giant WPP company needed to be a place where staff feel ‘safe and supported’.

His comment is a veiled attack on Sir Martin, who is alleged to have a fiery temper and to have sometimes unleashed a tirade of verbal abuse against employees.

Former staff have claimed he was ‘brutal and inhuman in how he dealt with assistants’ and had a reputation for being difficult. Mr Read, appointed chief operating officer following Sir Martin’s exit in April, made his remarks in a memo to staff.

He wrote: ‘When I come to work I expect to be treated with respect by my colleagues, and every one of you reading this has the right to expect the same.

‘We should remind ourselves of the kind of values we want and need to have within every part of our business: values of fairness, tolerance, kindness and – again – respect.

‘It should hardly need saying that all WPP working environments must be places where people feel safe and supported.’

The firm also announced a review of staff conduct rules in an attempt to make improvements.

Rumours about the private life of Sir Martin have been rife in the City since he quit WPP with a £20million exit deal, 33 years after founding the company. It followed an internal investigation into his personal conduct and use of company money.

At the annual general meeting of WPP today, shareholders are set to put pressure on the firm to publish details of the probe, which had been led by top law company WilmerHale. Chairman Roberto Quarta could also face calls to quit.

WPP has declined to comment. A spokesman for Sir Martin said he ‘strenuously denies’ the allegations.