BrewDog has made a “disastrous employee relations misstep” by scrapping its real living wage offering, an employment law director has told HR Grapevine.
The brewing giant revealed this week that it would no longer pay its employees the real living wage despite having done so since 2015. Instead, new hires will be offered the national minimum wage of 11.44 an hour, which is below the 12 cost of living-based rate.
Bosses at BrewDog, which is the UK’s largest craft beer brewer, said the move was necessary after recording a 24 million operating loss last year.
The firm told employees: "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.”
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The real living wage is a voluntary measure, and is calculated based on living standards. It is separate from the national living wage imposed by the Government. From April 1, the rate will increase to 12 an hour across the UK, and to 13.15 for workers in London.
In contrast, pay for BrewDog staff based in London will be frozen at 11.95, more than 1 less per hour that the upcoming rise to real living wage in the capital.
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