Brewer taps into a fairer deal for staff

BREWDOG, the fast growing crafter brewer, has introduced a salary cap that would limit the pay of the highest earners to 14 times the wage of the lowest.

Additionally Brewdog has capped the salary of new employees, regardless of their seniority, at seven times the level of its lowest earner.

The lowest salary at Brewdog is currently £18,700. At FTSE 100 companies, the average gap between the lowest paid employee and the highest is 141 times, while for listed companies in the US, that ratio is 361.

The salary cap came into force last week and co-founder and chief executive James Watt said it will prevent Brewdog from hiring expensive outsiders who do not understand the company, its culture or its customers.

It will also force the company to train and develop its next generation of leaders, providing staff with clear opportunities for career progression.

Brewdog is to introduce a new bonus scheme for employees. From January 1 it will split 10 per cent of its annual profits evenly between all employees. It said that the bonus scheme, called the Unicorn Fund, will incentivise staff to act and be rewarded like owners of the business.

In two weeks time, Brewdog will officially open its Berlin brewery and taproom for business and hold its annual meeting there.

The £10million development is in the Berlin district of Mariendorf and will help ensure that Brewdog can continue to provide supplies to bars and restaurants on the continent uninterrupted in the event of a nodeal Brexit.