Hello. We are Punks With Purpose.
On 9th June 2021, we published an open letter to BrewDog on behalf of over one hundred former staff members, in response to BrewDog’s silence on issues of sexism and misogyny raised on social media. Within days of publishing, we were given a commitment by BrewDog that they would deal with the issues and concerns we raised. We began holding them to account to ensure they fulfilled the their promises, and expanded our mission in an attempt to help tackle toxic workplace cultures head-on, by promoting positive action.
On 8th February 2022, we launched the BrewDog Affected Workers Registration Platform in partnership with Hand & Heart – a resource allowing staff past and present to log their poor treatment anonymously with an independent third party, to build up a true picture of the culture at BrewDog.
We have also attempted to help address issues within the wider alcohol and hospitality industries – please check out our resources for industry workers, and help us by donating to The Drinks Trust via our Just Giving page.
In June 2023, we made the decision to stop commenting or responding to BrewDog’s day-to-day activities. For the most comprehensive summary of everything that went down from 2021-2023, we recommend reading this 118 report by Hand & Heart. Trust us, it’s worth it.
In January 2024, BrewDog abandoned their commitment to paying staff the real Living Wage, on which matter we made the decision to put out a statement and offer our support to staff trying to reverse this decision.
We owe a huge debt of thanks to Brienne Allan, Siobhan Hewison, and Fanny Wandel for their work exposing sexism and misogyny in the beer industry – their bravery inspired us, and others, to speak up.
Please do your part to help stamp out toxicity in what should be a friendly and inclusive industry.