BrewDog Handed HSE Improvement Notice: What This Means for Your Business and DSEAR Compliance
When you think of BrewDog, you probably think of craft beer, bold branding, and a company that’s made waves in the drinks industry for over a decade.
What you might not expect is to see their name appearing on an HSE enforcement notice – but that’s exactly what happened in 2022, and it serves as a powerful reminder that DSEAR compliance isn’t something any business can afford to overlook.
What Happened?
In September 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served BrewDog with a formal improvement notice following an inspection of their headquarters at Balmacassie Industrial Estate in Ellon, Scotland.
Inspectors identified three separate safety breaches — two under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and one under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR).
The breaches centred on BrewDog’s distillery operations, where the company produces spirits including gin, rum, and vodka alongside their well-known range of beers.
The production process involves ethanol mixtures – highly flammable substances that fall squarely within the scope of DSEAR.
What Did the HSE Find?
The improvement notice, served in August 2022 and published publicly in September of that year, outlined three specific failures.
First, BrewDog had failed to apply appropriate measures – consistent with their own risk assessment – to control the risks posed by the production and use of dangerous substances.
In other words, they had a risk assessment, but weren’t fully acting on it.
Second, the company had not put adequate measures in place to mitigate the effects of a fire or explosion, should one occur, nor did they have processes to safely remove dangerous substances from the workplace in an emergency.
Third – and perhaps most seriously from a human safety perspective – BrewDog had failed to minimise the number of people who could be exposed to risk in the event of a fire or explosion within the distillery.
The company was given until 4 November 2022 to comply with the notice and address all identified failings.
BrewDog’s Response
A BrewDog spokesperson stated that the issues identified related to the spirit production side of the business, which was still being commissioned at the time of inspection.
They added that the improvements flagged by the HSE were already being addressed before the inspection took place, and expressed confidence that all necessary steps would be completed within the HSE’s timeframe.
While that response is reassuring, it highlights a common issue seen across many industries – businesses that are aware of compliance gaps but haven’t yet fully closed them.
In the eyes of the law, intent to comply is not the same as compliance.
Why This Matters for Your Business
BrewDog is a large, well-resourced company with dedicated health and safety teams.
If they can find themselves on the wrong side of a DSEAR improvement notice, it should prompt every business owner and facilities manager to ask: are we fully compliant?
DSEAR applies to any workplace where dangerous substances are present – and the scope is broader than many people realise.
As we’ve covered previously on this blog, the 2015 amendment to DSEAR extended its reach to include all gases under pressure (hazard class H280), meaning businesses with air conditioning, refrigeration, or heat pump equipment are also within scope, not just those handling flammable liquids or spirits.
An HSE improvement notice is a matter of public record.
Beyond the reputational damage, failure to comply within the given timeframe can result in prosecution, significant fines, and in the worst cases, imprisonment.
More importantly, inadequate DSEAR controls put lives at risk.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
The consequences of a DSEAR breach go far beyond a letter from the HSE.
A fire or explosion in a workplace where dangerous substances are inadequately controlled can be catastrophic – for employees, members of the public, and the business itself.
Insurance claims can be contested where non-compliance is found to be a contributing factor, and civil liability can follow alongside any criminal prosecution.
The BrewDog case is a timely reminder that having a risk assessment on paper is only half the job.
It must be acted upon, kept up to date, and embedded into day-to-day operations.
Are You Confident in Your DSEAR Compliance?
At Fire Risk Assessment Surrey, we work with businesses across Surrey and the surrounding areas to ensure their DSEAR obligations are fully met – from initial risk assessment through to practical implementation and ongoing review.
Whether you handle flammable substances, operate a distillery or manufacturing facility, or simply have RACHP equipment on site, we can help you stay on the right side of the law.
Don’t wait for an HSE inspector to find the gaps. Get ahead of the issue today.
Further Reading:
- HSE DSEAR Guidance: https://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/dsear.htm
- HSE Enforcement Notices Database: https://notices.hse.gov.uk
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: https://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm
