BrewDog To Give Staff 50% Of Bar Profits As Well As £120,000 Worth Of Shares

BrewDog has announced the launch of a profit sharing scheme that will allow the company’s 1,500 hourly-paid bar staff to share half of each bar’s earnings.

The Scottish brewer will also dish out £120,000 to its 750 salaried staff as founder James Watt announced he’ll be parting with nearly a fifth of his company stake.

The move – a first for the hospitality sector – will see 3.7 million shares handed from Watt to employees to mark BrewDog’s 15-year anniversary.

Watt’s stake will drop from 24.2% to 19.2% and shares will be held in an employee benefit trust initially. 

BrewDog’s profit sharing scheme for bar staff is estimated to pad out salaries by £3,000 to £5,000. Cash payouts will be given to bar staff twice a year in cash and the scheme will kick off this June.

Last summer, dozens of former BrewDog employees signed an open letter claiming they were ‘treated like objects’ and expected to work amid ‘a culture of fear’. The letter also alleged that Watt and co-founder Martin Dickie perceived ‘growth, at all costs, as the number one focus for the company’, and claimed a 'significant number' of former employees were 'burnt out, afraid and miserable' after working at the company.

Speaking at the time, Watt insisted the company would make changes. He told PA news agency: “Everything we’re doing today is about looking forward with a fantastic team.”

Speaking about creating a ‘new type of business’, Watt added: “It will help with every element of our company – recruitment, retention and team engagement.

“Ultimately it’s about ownership. We want our team members to act as business owners and incentivise them as if they are business owners.”

The company has since been on a mission to mend its public image and in January announced it would be offering an unlimited number of non-alcoholic beers across its UK bars as people gave up booze for the month.

Watt added the group is unlikely to go public within the next year, but said a listing is 'very much part' of the plan.

LADbible has approached BrewDog for comment.