BrewDog has today announced the introduction of a living wage policy for its UK staff, making an unprecedented commitment to the wellbeing of its employees.

image002Effective immediately, the brewer has introduced a written company policy ensuring all its UK employees — currently 314 — receive at least the recognised living wage calculated for their location. Rather than following legal minimum wage limits, the new policy will instead focus on what supports a suitable standard of living for staff.

The minimum wage in the UK is currently £6.31 per hour for workers aged 21 years or more, and £5.03 per hour for workers aged 18 to 20 inclusive. The living wage is £1.34 per hour higher than this, at £7.65 per hour (£8.80 an hour in London). Over a 40-hour working week, employees earning a living wage in the UK are paid £53.60 more than those paid the national minimum wage.

BrewDog co-founder, James Watt, said: “BrewDog is an eclectic collective of passionate people committed to great craft beer. All of them, from our talented brewers to our awesome bar staff, are integral to our success and growth so we wanted to reward their passion and dedication by guaranteeing a fair wage for all. All of our staff will receive a wage that will afford them a good standard of living wherever they might be located.

“We want this to be a wakeup call for employers, especially in the hospitality industry. What should be a respected profession is often still regarded as a university stop gap. No other bar division has ever looked beyond legal minimum wages or legislative parameters in committing to salary levels for staff. But we want this to provide a call to arms for the industry to pick up its feet and set new standards.

“In addition to a fair payment structure, we pay for all our bar staff to take the Cicerone Certified Beer Server exam, and we give our most knowledgeable beer geeks the opportunity to take the Certified Cicerone exam. We want to nurture their love of craft beer so they can enjoy a long and illustrious career in the industry.”

He added: “We have always done things differently at BrewDog, and our living wage pledge is just one part of a commitment to rewarding our amazing teams, from the brewery to bars, and from bottle shops to restaurants.”