Ted Baker set to revise HR policy after ‘forced hugs’

High Street fashion chain Ted Baker will overhaul how it handles HR complaints and offer staff training following an investigation into inappropriate behaviour by its founder.

Ray Kelvin, 63, who started the business in 1988 with a men’s shirt shop in Glasgow, resigned last month.

He was accused of massaging employees, kissing their ears and asking some to sit on his lap as well as imposing a culture of “forced hugging”.

The fashion chain launched an independent investigation into the claims, led by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

The probe identified “several areas for improvement” in Ted Baker’s policies, procedures and handling of HR-related complaints but stopped short of making any comment on the specific allegations against Kelvin.

Investigators interviewed “a significant number” of former and current staff and reviewed documentary evidence.

An independent and confidential whistleblowing hotline will now be set up, while Lindsay Page, the acting chief executive, was appointed to the post permanently.

Executive chairman David Bernstein said: “We are determined to learn from this process and, moving forward, cultivate a better environment for all employees where they always feel respected and valued.”

Claims about Kelvin’s conduct first emerged late last year in an online petition that was signed by more than 2,700 people.

It detailed alleged harassment at Ted Baker that was “well documented but wilfully ignored by those in charge”.