James' Places
Happiness score is 48 out of 100
3.1 out of 5 stars.
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Working at James' Places: 36 James' Places Reviews

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Location
United Kingdom36 reviews

Ratings by category

2.9Work-life balance
2.6Pay & benefits
2.8Job security & advancement
2.8Management
2.8Culture

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Structured and productive

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The most useful review selected by Indeed
Most of the time I feel at ease with the work I am asked to to however I do feel that there are some tasks that are better suited to other relevant departments instead of piling it onto the night staff.I feel that the learning curve is very shallowThe hardest part of the job is fitting all the varied tasks into the time given.

Pros

The autonomous nature of the job

Cons

The commuting distance
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Guaranteed job security

Guaranteed job security, the turn over of staff is extremely high, within 3 months expect a complete roll over of staff you knew when you started leaving, and new staff joining and repeat every three months. Counted 30 staff leaving and then stopped counting. (No joke) front of house, reception, bar staff, waiting on, chefs, managers, housekeeping, you name it. All gone. Guaranteed job security though, even if you’re rubbish at the job, they’re so short of staff and there are always so many vacancies, I reckon you could swap roles for a taste of each and come back round to the first one again in no time at all.

Pros

Free dinner (always excellent food)

Cons

Thankless work, high stress, REALLY high stress, turnover of staff is crazy.
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Insights into James' Places

Based on 15 survey responses
Areas for improvement
  • Fair pay for job
  • Overall satisfaction
  • Supportive environment

Not the best place I had the pleasure of working!!!!

I was a restaurant manager here, no staff to support you, left to your own devices. 11/12 hrs a day. No charge of rota. Reception are a law to thems. Disoriented senior management team.

Pros

Tips

Cons

No staff
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Stay in position you applied for for as long as possible

Went in as cdp, months I was premoted to Sou chef, then after under 9 months I was head chef. Too much too fast and no guidance left to it. Harder they fall situation. Messed with in every department 80 hrs a week no training. Stress in every department trying to one up the head chef. Not a good experience.

Pros

Free lunches if you have time to eat it

Cons

Long hours, no training and little or no support.
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Overworked and underpaid.

I worked here for one day and quit because I had such an awful time. I worked non stop for 8 hours (apart from a short lunch break) and was left absolutely exhausted. My back ached, my feet ached and I got very little enjoyment out of it. When I arrived home I was in tears and had to lie down for the rest of the day. Perhaps if the pay was higher and the hours in a working day were shorter then I would have considered carrying on. Yes you get free food which was nice, but it wasn’t worth the hours of pain and misery. I wouldn’t recommend working here to anyone unless you were extremely desperate and had no other option.

Pros

Free lunch.

Cons

Long hours, low pay, stressful, physically exhausting.
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Awful place to work

if your face doesn’t fit then your alone. Awful culture, lots of backstabbing, no official breaks, minimum wage is ridiculous for what you are actually expected to do. Looked down on by owners you don’t get acknowledged.

Pros

Beautiful setting

Cons

Minimum wage
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No work life balance

No training givenPoorly managedLong shifts.Lie about hours and role to get staffNo follow up action for staff not turning up or not doing job correctly.All staff dictate what they will and will not do to gm

Pros

Free lunch

Cons

Long hours
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Untrustworthy management

The management was a bully easy manipulated by under management not very bright , and as night porter felt I was in the middle of a management war, and the thieving by under management was unbelievable. In my opinion the company is the worst I've ever worked for
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Loved

I loved working for Holmes Mill it was the best time of my life, met the most amazing people. I would still be there if I wasn’t made redundant due to covid.

Pros

Free lunches, friendly coworkers

Cons

Weekends
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Awful

Absolute awful company, two faced and balls-less senior managers, underpaid.Only get a promotion if you are in the “cool kids group” feels like being still in high school!!!! Unreal.Give yourself a favour and avoid to apply for this place.

Pros

Free food on shift

Cons

Everything else
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Overall an okay place to work, no room for progression.

Some great colleagues with great ideas, could do with better organisation and structure. To many people had alot of ideas but would never follow them up, which caused confusion and not knowing where you stood in the company.
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Great staff. Poor company

Great staff poor company to work for. Pay can be paid late into your account and wrongly worked out Over taxed and NI contributions are over the normal rate Pay the bare minimum but yet expect years of experience to be able to handle to day to day running of the kitchen
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Wouldn’t recommend

Bad management. Constant changing in the rota so you never had a set day or time when you’re working. Lots of pressure to work lots of long days and have no understanding when you turn them down
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Productive

A Friendly place to work. Clean and hygienic place, A lot of weddings and functions. very busy place especially in the summer when you can sit outside
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Bad Management

Keeps a tight rein on staffing levels so it is always understaffed but still expected to do daily jobs and also many extra ones throughout the day. Customers do complain on booking.com about the staffing level.
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N/a

Good hours, plenty of responsibility given, plenty of scope to learn, changing menu, plenty of contact with management, scope to be promoted within as it's part of a large group.
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Great staff, fun to work with

Lovely staff, wish I could have stayed longer, but it was too hard to get to as I couldn't drive. The free dinners were really nice, and you were always guaranteed a break. Only thing is that it's hard to make plans as you don't know when you are working till sunday night, I don't know it might have changed since I was there.
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not for young people

Long Demanding Hours Minimal pay Have to chase most things up i.e pay slips,underpayments, actually getting a contract Was there for a year didn't even have an induction and a lack of information i had due to that made me miss out on months of holiday pay Helped me grow and develop as a chef They do actually keep there word and do staff food Generally nice staff Nice and prestigious venues
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Work

It was as a great place to work and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in that line of work. Wonderful staff and management at Mitton Hall.
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fun place

I met a lot of lovely people and was trained well and I enjoyed coming to work. I learned new skills and made a lot of friends. Management was great and staff were always helpful. I was always offering to help other people too.

Pros

free lunch

Cons

long hours
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Friendly and productive workplace

All staff were friendly, good communication, learnt some new skills with cooking, good pay and environment, lots of teamwork and single jobs, good benefits with job

Pros

Free lunches

Cons

Far to travel
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Overall rating

Based on 36 reviews

Ratings by category

2.9 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance
2.6 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits
2.8 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement
2.8 out of 5 stars for Management
2.8 out of 5 stars for Culture

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