Nyetimber Nightmare: Court Case Reveals Toxic Work Environment

Update: Since I posted this yesterday my HUSBAND (not me) received a call from a rep. from Bell Pottinger (BP) the PR firm that now represents Nyetimber as a result of the fallout from this case. Nyetimber is one of a long list of controversial clients of BP. They have represented according to the guardian "Asma al-Assad, the wife of the president of Syria; Alexander Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus; Rebekah Brooks after the phone-hacking scandal broke; the repressive governments of Bahrain and Egypt;the polluting oil company Trafigura; the fracking company Cuadrilla; the athlete Oscar Pistorius after he was charged with murder; the Pinochet Foundation during its campaign against the former Chilean dictator's British detention; the much-criticised arms conglomerate BAE Systems."

The rep asked that my husband "tell" me to amend or remove my post......As it is not 1846 and I don't have to do what my husband "TELLS" me to do. I have not amended it at all.

It is very prudent to do your research prior to joining any organisation, in particular those which are not publicly traded and therefore not subject to the same scrutiny as others. The drinks industry in particular can attract characters who have a lot of disposable income and often view a drinks brand as a means of an ego boost or lifestyle expression. This sometimes (not all the time) does not bode well for those employed by such organisations.

Nyetimber sadly, it seems, is one of those organisations. I would personally vouch for that having worked there briefly as Head of Marketing. Whilst there I saw many great young people in the business either dismissed or set against by the Owner for no other reason than personal feelings rather than performance. I came to view my role after a few months as one of protecting my team of young professionals from the owners' personal opinions of them. This behaviour has been formally confirmed with the outcome of a recent employment tribunal.

A talented senior former Nyetimber employee named in the tribunal had a stellar track record in large drinks multinationals and is well respected in the industry. However he fell afoul of the whims of the Billionaire owner of the business, as I did when I worked there. The formal employment tribunal has found against the owner who accused the very well respected industry insider of a number of things as basic as 'Laziness' which is simply untrue.

I also left under a cloud after falling afoul of the owner as every single senior person in the business did prior to and during my tenure. However, I left with a legal stautory payout that allowed me breathing room to start my business, The Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey Co. The owner wanted me out as I had begun to challenge him with my Industry knowledge (20 years of it) and I certainly wanted out as his behaviour towards me and my staff was becoming increasingly erratic, so for me it worked out.

The person named in the tribunal was not given statutory compensation or was offered conditional compensation that was not guaranteed. Not at all fair and a big mistake as this very public tribunal has brought many things to light. Some are relevant to customer and drinks trade relations like the fact that Nyetimber is banned from the Savoy due to a "tantrum" by the owner which the Savoy described as "deplorable behaviour" and which was well known and discussed among staff when I worked there. Other stories take even more salacious tone. The Daily Mail confirmed that the owner inherited much of his money from his Nazi Father and therefore a much loved British Brand is financed by the Nazis... These stories make for great copy and are fun to read and sure they have no impact on whether the product is good or not really. The brand does well and continues to because of the passionate staff who have been through the revolving doors thus far. None of us knew what we were in for, we loved the idea of the brand so we threw ourselves into it for a few months. Then we all ended up leaving or were dismissed under dubious claims of Laziness or whatever....

These stories would not have been revealed if it was not for the "deplorable behaviour" of the owner of the business and his disregard for the careers of the young professionals who dedicated much of their daily lives to making his brand a success, and they did a great job. Senior people in the industry like me can easily recover from a blip in our career like this. I founded my own business within 2 months and never looked back. However, young 20 something professionals like those who worked on my team should not be subjected to such environments EVER. Neither should waiters or staff at accounts like the Savoy or ANYWHERE have to deal with anyone being violent in their establishments whether they are event sponsors or not.

The drinks industry runs on mutual respect between producers and trade customers, if you don't have it you should not try to be a part of it, you won't be welcome, which I fear Nyetimber might realise shortly.

Should anyone be considering working for Nyetimber I would be happy to share my personal opinion of my tenure there which lasted less than a year, It is my mere opinion the rest you can read in the Public Record.