Controversial beer company and bar chain BrewDog, has announced that it will share half of its bar profits with all bar workers and give 750 members of staff shares worth £120,000. Recently valued at £1.8 billion, the business says 1,500 paid by the hour bar staff can expect to receive an extra £3,000 to £5,000 a year in cash.
Founder and chief executive James Watt also said he will give almost a fifth of his stake in the company to salaried employees. The news comes as BrewDog attempts to rehabilitate its reputation after being accused of having a so called "culture of fear" within the business.
Last year in 2021, BrewDog apologised after co-founder James Watt was accused of fostering a toxic culture in which workers were bullied and "treated like objects". In an open letter which was posted on Twitter, former employees alleged: "Growth, at all costs, has always been perceived as the number one focus for the company. Being treated like a human being was sadly not always a given for those working at BrewDog".
Read more: BrewDog announces new beer with profits going to fund relief in Ukraine
This year, BrewDog were deemed to have broken US federal law in 2016 and 2017 by shipping beer which contained banned ingredients. The American importer said it had been 'deceived' by the Scottish company.
Controversial timeline of BrewDog
2009
In 2006, BrewDog was founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in Fraserburgh. Just two years later they quickly became stocked in Tesco and won gold at the 2008 World Beer Cup.
However, a year later, the brand was labelled 'grossly irresponsible' for calling one of its products Speedball, the name given to a mixture of crack cocaine and heroin. Its Tokyo beer was also removed from shelves for breaking drinks marketing laws.
2010
The company received many complaints after advertising its 55% The End Of History ale inside the bodies of dead animals. Animal rights groups slammed the stunt, saying "using shock tactics to get attention is terribly out of date, especially when this involves exploiting or degrading animals".
2011
BrewDog employed someone with dwarfism to stand outside Parliament for a week holding a sign in what it called "the world’s smallest protest". The brewer looked to challenge a 300-year-old law which stated beer could only be served in third, half or full pint measures.
2014
Not deterred after being disciplined by the Advertising Standards Authority after using "m*****", "t***" and "b*******" in marketing, the brand launched another headline grabbing campaign.
In response to anti-homosexual laws being passed in Russia, BrewDog launched the "not for gays" beer, which featured pictures of Vladimir Putin on an Andy Warhol-esque background.
2018 and 2020
The brewers landed themselves in trouble with advertising standards with their beer launched for International Women's Day, which was found to appeal to children and perpetuated sexism.
Meanwhile, two years later, they were again disciplined for advertising their alcoholic seltzer as 'healthy'. This is despite those products containing up to five percent ABV.
