BrewDog has now launched a workplace code, following an independent review into accusation of bullying at the brewery.
BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie
Earlier this year, former employees came together to write an open letter accusing the company of poor working practices and treating staff badly.
Founders James Watt are Martin Dickie were accused of creating a cult of personality, and using lies, hypocrisy, and deceit in order to further the company’s goals.
The former workers — dubbed Punks With Purpose — also cited safety concerns within the company’s operation, but added: “Put bluntly, the biggest shared experience of former staff is a residual feeling of fear.”
James Watt has now announced what he describes as “a framework for how we will look to build a fantastic culture”.
He added: “The review highlighted the vast majority of our people really enjoy working at BrewDog, and we have moved on a long way in terms of how we look after our people through our eras of extremely high growth. However, we also recognise we did not always get things right.
“The review highlights the need for us to do more to support our people, provide them with a proper career path, and give them the right learning and development opportunities. We need to train the leaders of tomorrow, giving them the skills they need to manage people, and we need to ensure we have the right level of resource in place across the organisation.”
• The full workplace code can be viewed here.
Alongisde the code, the company has also:
- Appointed a new head of learning and development
- Introduced management development training
- Grown its human resources depertment
- Appointed mental health ambassadors
Watt added: “This has been a tough year, but despite all these challenges, I am proud to say we’ve managed to navigate the pandemic and grown the business considerably. We will achieve top-line growth of around 25% year-on-year in 2021 and we’ve opened 16 new, fantastic hospitality venues, with many more planned next year.
“The open letter was tough to read, but it was the catalyst for a period of reflection, individually and as a business. The steps we have already taken, and the further measures announced, will not only make a real difference to the experience of our hard-working people, they will also make BrewDog a stronger business, better prepared to capitalise on the huge opportunities we see ahead in 2022 and beyond.”
