BrewDog has been accused of firing an Asian woman after she expressed her distress when members of the far-right English Defense League met at the London bar where she worked.
A former employee said EDL members had no trouble meeting at the “punk” brewery’s flagship bar in Waterloo ahead of a St George’s Day rally on April 23.
Police arrested 10 people at the event after groups of men tried to break through cordons in areas of Whitehall, with glass bottles also being thrown.
The former BrewDog staff member said she went to see her manager at the podcast studio located in the bar after arriving at work to find suspected EDL members drinking in the bar ahead of the rally.
BrewDog accused her of “aggressive behavior and using inappropriate language” after she raised her concerns, according to documents seen by the Guardian.
“It wasn’t like that at all,” Myriam — not her real name — told the Tribune magazine, which first reported the story.
“All I said was, ‘I can’t believe this.’ This is bloody unbelievable.” I wasn’t cursing my manager… When I read the allegation, it absolutely broke my heart. I was scared, angry, heartbroken. I felt helpless. That’s my job. I have bills to pay. I had a breakdown.”
Myriam sent a message to her manager apologizing for the strength of her emotions and asking him to put himself “in the shoes of a brown woman” in the situation, adding that her family faced racial abuse from the EDL when she was growing up.
In the letter to Myriam, BrewDog said it recognized her “past trauma and emotional state” but that she had committed serious misconduct deserving of a dismissal with notice.
The Unite trade union said it was concerned about BrewDog’s treatment of staff. “We will do everything we can legally and industrially to ensure that our members at this and every Brewdog get the justice they deserve,” said Bryan Simpson, lead organizer for Unite Hospitality.
While the EDL did not book into the BrewDog bar, Myriam said “they are allowed to sit there and drink in front of their rally which always ends in violence”.
Aberdeenshire-based BrewDog is understood to have been tipped off by police a day earlier that EDL members were likely to gather in the Waterloo area and might visit the bar. Police told the company not to close the venue and offered assurances that officers would be present.
Myriam said staff were not informed of this and said the lack of advance warning was a factor in her response. Colleagues were extremely uncomfortable with the presence of the EDL and one was reduced to tears, she claimed.
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One member of staff at BrewDog who dealt with her disciplinary hearing appeared to be unaware of what the EDL was, she added.
BrewDog, which has built a reputation as a “punk” challenger to mainstream beer brands, has faced numerous allegations of employee mistreatment.
In 2021, the company apologized to former employees who accused the company and its co-founder James Watt of fostering a “culture of fear” in which employees were bullied and “treated like objects”.
Watt has since stepped down as CEO, saying he wants to focus on other businesses, although he remains on the board.
BrewDog told the Tribune: “The standards of behavior we expect from our colleagues are set out in our workplace code of conduct. In this case, there was a clear and unacceptable breach of this Code. We followed all the relevant processes and adhered to our investigative and disciplinary policies and we stand by our decision.”
The Guardian has approached the company separately for comment.