Co-op reviews

3.7

66% would recommend to a friend

(6,244 total reviews)
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Kate Allum

73% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Co-op has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 6,244 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Co-op employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Einzel- & Großhandel industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

6K reviews
1.0
Dec 30, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly and supportive colleagues in most stores Flexible part-time hours, good for students or second jobs Staff discount and membership benefits Generally inclusive workplace with strong values around community and ethics

Cons

Pay is average for retail and doesn’t always reflect workload Can be understaffed, especially during busy periods High workload when covering multiple roles (tills, stock, cleaning) Management quality varies a lot by store Limited career progression for part-time staff Weekend and evening shifts are often expected Not enough training given No support enough for new mothers (staff) or mothers who got little kids (staff)

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Co-op Response
5mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re pleased to hear that you’ve experienced support from colleagues and value the flexibility and benefits we offer. We’re sorry to learn that some aspects of your experience haven’t met expectations, particularly around training and support for new starters. We encourage colleagues to raise concerns through the appropriate internal channels, such as speaking with their manager or using our colleague feedback platforms. That way, your concerns can be heard by the people who can act on them. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.
1.0
Dec 18, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The Team Leader role involved late shifts (2pm–10pm), including reductions and compliance-related tasks, which I was comfortable with and found fairly remunerated for a retail position. I worked alongside friendly, supportive team members and generally positive customers, which made the day-to-day work enjoyable.

Cons

My otherwise postive experience was negatively impacted by the behaviour of the existing management team. Despite my efforts, I was not made to feel included within the wider leadership team for reasons that were never explained. This included being excluded from team communication channels, conversations stopping upon my arrival, and unprofessional comments being made about my work without being addressed directly. I was regularly allocated undesirable shifts and was often required to work one on one during particularly busy periods, such as weekends or during nearby busy events. I was also blamed for issues outside of my responsibility and, on occasion, spoken to in a belittling manner over headsets in front of colleagues. Additionally, I was asked to complete mandatory online training in my own time with the assurance that it would be paid. When I later queried this, payment was repeatedly deferred and I was made to feel uncomfortable for asking, despite the original agreement. These ongoing issues appeared to be part of a wider culture within the long-standing management team and may help explain the high turnover of new staff.

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Co-op Response
5mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re pleased to hear that you found aspects of the role rewarding and enjoyed working alongside supportive colleagues and customers. We’re genuinely sorry to learn that you felt excluded and experienced challenges with communication and shift allocation. That’s not the experience we want for any colleague and we do hope that you spoke up about this at the time. While we can’t comment on individual situations, we’d like to reassure you that colleagues are not asked to complete mandatory training outside of working hours. Should you wish to share more information with us please complete the former colleague contact form at colleagues.coop.co.uk/contacts
2.0
Dec 5, 2025

too much little pay

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

decent pay for retail compared to others

Cons

too much responsibility not many people on shift company doesn't really care about you

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Co-op Response
6mo
Thank you for sharing your review. We're concerned about your welfare and think that you should speak to your manager about how you're feeling. If you don't think that you can approach your manager about this, there are other channels available to you for advice you can use the ask Bobbi feature on MyHR or reach out to our colleague assistance programme for support.
Viewing 184 - 186 of 6,244 Reviews

Glassdoor has 6,712 Co-op reviews submitted anonymously by Co-op employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Co-op is right for you.