BrewDog withdraws ‘real’ Living Wage pledge

BrewDog has dropped out of the ‘real’ Living Wage scheme, causing anger among employees.

In a letter to staff, the pub chain and brewery informed them that new workers would now be hired on the government’s national living wage of £10.42 for those aged 23 and over. The government will increase this rate to £11.44 in April, and will extend the rate to employees aged 21 and 22.

However, the company had previously been a signatory of the voluntary Living Wage scheme, recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, where employers agree to pay a higher recommended minimum that takes into account cost of living factors.

That rate increased by 10% in October to £12.00 an hour outside London and £13.15 an hour in the capital.

BrewDog said bar workers in London would see no increase to their pay, which will remain at £11.95 per hour.

From 1 April, all new starter bar crew would be paid £11.44 an hour, it said.

The company said it had had to make “some hard decisions” after making a trading loss in 2023, despite a strong performance over Christmas.

In the letter, it said: “We have always been fully committed to trying to do the best we can for our people. From abolishing zero-hours contracts, our unique company-wide profit share scheme, to amazing signature benefits like ‘pawternity’ leave and paid sabbaticals after five years of service.”

Punks with Purpose, a campaign group of employees and former employees who sent an open letter to chief executive James Watt in 2021 accusing him of promoting a culture of fear at the company, said the commitment to paying the ‘real’ Living Wage had been one of the “cornerstones” of BrewDog’s identity, and that the announcement marked “another principle cast aside”.

The hospitality arm of the Unite union told the Guardian newspaper that withdrawing the Living Wage Foundation recommended rate was “outrageous” during “the most acute cost of living crisis in a generation”.

Lead organiser Bryan Simpson said: “We are already working with our BrewDog members across the country to collectively challenge this awful decision and force the senior management of the company to do the right thing by the workers who have made them millions.”

🚨BREAKING 🚨@BrewDog have written to their workers telling them that they will no longer be paid the *real* living wage from April with the rate being removed for new starts with immediate effect.

We wonder whether this will feature in the new film about the company? pic.twitter.com/4UEqoGTexK

— Unite Hospitality (@FairHospitality) January 10, 2024

In response to Unite, Watt said on X that the company’s benefits package was “far more generous than the industry average”, including a £350,000 payout last year via its profit share programme.

In 2022, following the toxic workplace allegations by staff, BrewDog lost its B Corp status, which signifies a company’s ethical commitments to the environment, community and its people.

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