An investigation by The Times has revealed that during James Watt’s leadership as chief executive of BrewDog, the company failed to adhere to health and safety regulations, thereby endangering the well-being and livelihoods of its workforce.
James Watt, co-founder of the craft beer enterprise, has long cultivated a public persona as a daring entrepreneur and challenger of conventions. Having launched the “punk beer firm” from a garage in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, alongside Martin Dickie in 2007, Watt often projected an image of defiance.
He once famously cited Darth Vader, the Star Wars antagonist, as an inspiration and articulated his ambition to be remembered as the individual who would “rid the country of the red tape plague.” When questioned about potential legal transgressions as a 24-year-old Edinburgh University graduate, Watt assertively stated, “I am the law.”
The company was served with two legal enforcement notices in 2022, a year after being warned privately that “unacceptable” failures created the potential for fires, explosions, deaths and serious injuries at their headquarters in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
The HSE’s intervention in 2022 mandated improvements to address three specific safety breaches. Inspectors raised concerns about the company’s failure to adequately control risks associated with the production and use of dangerous substances, particularly ethanol mixtures utilised in its spirit distillation process.
Additionally, BrewDog was cited for not implementing sufficient measures to mitigate the detrimental effects should a fire or explosion occur, nor having processes in place for the safe removal of hazardous substances from the workplace.
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The notices also highlighted a failure to minimise the number of personnel exposed in the event of such an incident.
Watt’s period at the helm saw BrewDog grow from a small-scale operation to a multinational brand, often employing unconventional marketing tactics and pursuing rapid expansion. This growth, however, was also accompanied by controversies and scrutiny regarding workplace culture and conduct
In June 2021, a collective of former employees, operating under the moniker “Punks With Purpose,” published an open letter. Initially signed by 61 individuals, the letter grew to represent nearly 300 former and current staff, alleging a “culture of fear” and “toxic attitudes” within the company, where workers were reportedly “bullied and ‘treated like objects’”. They claimed that the company’s rapid growth prioritised expansion “at all costs” over employee well-being.
