BrewDog is under fire after dropping its pledge to pay its staff the Real Living Wage amid the cost of living crisis.
The pub chain and brewery company will reportedly hire new team members on the legal minimum wage for their age going forward and freeze pay for bar staff in London.
Rates for the Real Living Wage are set by the Living Wage Foundation, which is the only UK wage rate factoring in the cost of living.
More than 14,000 businesses are signed up to the voluntary rate. Under the 2023-24 rates, workers in London get £13.15 hourly and employees outside the capital get £12 a hour.
The pub chain will instead pay the legal minimum wage
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However, BrewDog has said new members of staff will now be hired on the legal minimum wage, branded the National Living Wage by the government, of £10.42 an hour for those aged 23 and over.
From April, the National Living Wage will be £11.44 for people aged 21 and over.
This is less than the voluntary UK Real Living Wage rate of £10.90 which BrewDog pledged to pay workers for 2022-23. The London Real Living Wage for 2022-23 is £11.95.
In a letter to staff, seen by The Guardian, BrewDog said: “Even with this strong performance over Christmas, as a wider business there is no hiding from the fact that in 2023 we made a trading loss, and despite many efforts in the past 12 months to reduce our spending we still need to find more ways to get this business back to profitability and the financial stability that is needed.
“Inevitably, this does mean making some hard decisions.”
Unite’s lead organiser for hospitality, Bryan Simpson, said: “BrewDog have been paying the real living wage since 2015. To withdraw it now, during the most acute cost-of-living crisis in a generation is outrageous.
“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.”
A BrewDog spokesperson told GB News: “As a result of the changes we’re making – and despite unprecedented challenges in the hospitality sector – our staff outside London will be getting a 4.95 per cent increase in base pay, and crew currently working in London will be paid 4.5 per cent above the National Living Wage.
The pub chain is one of the most popular in the country
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“We have always been fully committed to doing the best we can for our people, and our benefits package is far more generous than the industry average. Last year we gave over £350,000 to our bars team via our unique profit share programme.
“Our team also benefits from a unique bonus scheme which sees all crew members receive an additional £1 an hour for the month for surpassing customer service standards.
“In addition, we offer signature benefits like ‘pawternity’ leave and paid sabbaticals after five years of service. We are proud to be one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, and we were named a Top UK Employer by the UK Top Employers Institute.”
GB News has contacted the Living Wage Foundation for comment.
