J D Wetherspoon PLC Employee Reviews
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Whilst working at Wetherspoons I only worked with my actual manager a few times as they were off sick, different assistant managers every shift, sometimes just had bar staff running the whole pub if assistant managers were off, quite unorganised. Was thrown into the deep end on a my first shift which was a busy Friday night, had a staff member help for about an hour then was left to my own devices, but I guess that’s how you learn. Fair pay, but noticed my hours decreasing week by week (obviously trying to get rid of me). Ended up being unfairly dismissed with a rubbish excuse after putting my all into my role but I still believe this is because they couldn’t afford to keep me on. Overall, good fast paced job with decent pay but be wary of managers.
Pros
Pay, Discounted meals, Flexible hours
Cons
Unfair Management
Management are useless. They don’t care about your mental health, and push you past your limits. Always short staffed, but expect you to meet the same targets as if you had the right amount of staff. Worse place I’ve ever worked in my opinion and I’ve worked in some terrible places! Nobody cares when the customer abuses you, they just carry on serving them.
Pros
Free food.
Cons
Short staffed. Pay. Management sucks.
good place to work, people are very helpfull and the management are very supportive, especially they give us training and support what we need & guidance.
Great career moves, friendly staff. Paid holidays. Flexible working hours. Free share scheme. Paid on line training. Great support group. Staff discounts.
Pros
Free meals and bonuses
Cons
Nights and weekends
Great place to work. All my colleagues are brilliant to work with, and very understanding. The management are also very approachable and willing to help you out if you need it. It's easy to book time off and if something comes up that requires your attention (at home) they are very accommodating, with flexi working available.
Pros
Free food if working 6 hours ample breaks
Cons
N/a
I have worked for Wetherspoon for 22 years and have seen some changes in that time and all for the good .Wetherspoon change with the times and follow all procedures to the letter. Health and safety is paramount to them as the havectgeir own consultation firm.
Pros
Paid lunches
Cons
Rotas
Was originally a fun place to work. Hard and long shifts but that was what was expected. Pay was good and targets achievable. As time went by the targets got harder and the freedom less. In the end was just stack it high and sell it cheap. No allowance was.made for cleaning lines or customer service. Doing weekly stocks including counting each sachet of condiments. Over time the care was on screw every penny you can. When I started it was on good, clean and safe pubs. Not like that when I left
Pros
Free food for managers
Cons
Expected to be a business manager but have no say in anything.
Good atmosphere to work in but depends what location you work. Late nights can be a bit tough but shift lengths are no longer than 8-9 hours for the longer shifts. Good benefits scheme and share scheme, paid holiday and very flexible shift work.
Pros
Free meal on shift
Cons
Communication at times
Fast paced but boring. Hours aren't evenly distributed. Management are okay but some staff think they're better than others which is intimidating and doesn't make it a nice working environment. Don't get free lunches just a 10% discount which is nothing, no pros to the job.
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I worked here for about 6 months with the promise of going full time after that but was refused as we went through 3 pub managers and god knows how many shift leaders in that time. Such a high turnover as no promises were kept, hours were long and you were lucky if you got your scheduled breaks. Most managers in the office doing nothing, leaving one shift leader to burn out while she basically handled everything. Some of the kitchen staff were horrible and so unprofessional, making crude, cringeworthy jokes at LGBTQ+ members of staff - and never pulled on their behaviour. The pub managers didn’t have a clue what they were doing, good staff were overworked and underpaid, lazy staff were left to coast through their shifts.
Pros
Some friendly colleagues
Cons
Poor management, no benefits, terrible pay, not allowed to accept tips, high turnover of staff
Could be okay place to work at depending on managers. My experience is that there were in experiences managers who had the promotion being friends with the manager... Did not do their job well. Not looking after those inmature workers (that most are there) and the place was like a zoo when certain managers were on shift. Then, they tell you to do stuff or say absurd things to customers but dont back you up once customers get mad and wanna complain...also i was not at manager level but did my job sometimes more responsibly e.g when asking IDs. The company may also have stupid rules like you can't change the barrel unless you are manager. Then you just wait there while your manager having cigarrette and customers get angry obviously.... Generally bad customer service which you do not wanna be part of if you are experienced at all!However may depend on pub but it's still spoons....
Pros
Free meal, easy job to learn
Cons
Bad customer service meaning customers don't respect you either
Worked with the company since 2014 through various roles. Has a good progression ladder, bonus scheme and is a highly social job. Sound paid management courses (wages and expenses).
Pros
Paid holiday, free staff food, free shares, staff discount
I worked in 2 pubs for about a year in each, the customers can be trashy and inappropriate especially towards female staff but if the management teams good its nothing to worry about. Its alot of weekend shifts and late hours but its pretty straightforward the hardest thinf you’ll probably do is deal with drunk customers.
Pros
Free meals, great discounts, flexible contracts
Cons
Dealing with the general public :)
The only thing that doesn't touch the microwaves or the fryers are the steaks, burgers and salad stuff. Was put on 2 weeks suspension and the fired as I forgot to put through my free staff meal as I came back from my break early to help with a busy spell. When really they were obviously just trying to get rid of staff with such a lack of hours available for team members due to COVID
Pros
None
Cons
Everything
As much as people like to complain about spoons, it's by no means a bad place to work.Though I left before covid I can confirm that nobody was laid off during lockdowns. If you are wanting to work in the hospitality industry or just need a job, then you can't go wrong with spoons. If you put in the effort then you will progress due to the high turnover that the industry is known for. From day 1, you will get paid more than other people doing the same job for other companies and as you progress, you will remain on a higher rate than your contempories. Though the hours can be long and antisocial, it is to be expected within the industry and time off requests are easy to put in. The majority of management teams will also be happy with shift switching if your holiday request isn't made in time. Your own experience will depend on the management team at your pub.
Pros
Free meal on shift
Shoved into all the unfavourable shifts purely because I was young and then made to feel unsecured in my position if I declined. Holidays rarely honoured and told "but we'll need you". Pay awful for the amount of work, management unprofessional.
Pros
Customers were a laugh
Cons
Everything
Would best suggest this as a stop-gap job or as a job for someone who is just starting work life.Staff are mostly alright.Pay is average, but there is a increase for every year you're there.
Pros
Some of the staff and customers are a great laugh.
Cons
Gets boring REALLY fast. If its quiet, youre screwed.
7 years from start to pub manager. I can not promote the company enough. The benefits, the bonuses, the progression. I love it and my team love it, life goals
Overall the work place is wonderful to work at from the staff to the customers (depending on where you work). I loved working there as I met different people day and I had the regulars. However it did take a toll on me after I worked there a while maybe some people can handle it but when it effects my emotional and physical state I have to stop and think about if this is the right place to work.
Pros
Free lunch, bonus
You will work long hours and jump through many hoops with little to no reward. 50+ hour weeks quickly became the norm and there was very little in the way of thanks. They only recently started giving employees free food much to management’s fury as it was used to persuade staff into staying for longer shifts or covering more days. Never enough staff on shift, customers could be horrible, management were largely unsupportive and unhelpful at dealing with basic issues.
Pros
Free food
Cons
Everything else
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