Pros
The pay is next to none for the job role The staff in the store that I work in are amazing, including the managers who will go out of their way to try make all staff happy with rotas. (Can't speak for all stores though) Staff discount is nice.
Cons
Even part time work/life balance is none existent. Don't hope to plan anything because rotas are changed consistently every other day, if you have a couple of days off and they change you won't be notified and then will get a good telling off for not reading minds and showing up to the changed shift. Although personally the store managers at the store I am at are amazing the issues come with everyone above store management. There is a total disconnect between head office and stores. The times set to work stock are unrealistic to any standards and clearly have been put into place by someone sat in an office somewhere who has no experience trying to work a chilled pallet in 20 minutes. To earn the pay you get you had better be ready to work like 3 people. Constantly short of staff there is no cover for sickness or holidays. One person doesn't turn up all hell breaks loose. Customers have to deal with 2 tills been open because the 3rd person of the team has to get their break. Stress, anxiety and depression are all just scoffed at by upper management. Rather than hiring more staff to ease the burden more pressure is just put on the already strained workforce. Without been specific in the couple of years I have been at Lidl 2 managers, 2 duty managers as well as my self have all been off at some point with diagnosed depression. There is 0 support (none is visibly advertised at least) for when the unfair expectations get on top of people. When management is getting it in the neck from head office/area managers the way they are talked to is disgusting. Although the staff are amazing (at least in the store I work in) because of all the stress everyone is under on a day to day basis it is a very toxic environment to work in, some days staff manage to be cheery enough to get through the day other times we are all so tired and agitated that its misery. Overtime in retail is a given however on your days off you will get calls to come in. Rotas mean nothing. It says finish time of 21.30pm? You better expect to get out no earlier than 10pm. Some overtime is a part of it but when its expected rather than asked it becomes a huge problem. Give an inch, take a mile seems very apt here. Many of the stores have gone or are going through a refit to modernize the stores. They look lovely, bringing in more customers but the growth of the staff is not inline with the growth of the business. At the end of the night, closing jobs are taking longer and yet less people are put on closing shifts, usually leaving 3 people to close a store. One of which is a manager who has to do all their jobs leaving 2 staff to do everything else. When you have sat on a till for 10 hours all day you barely have the energy to move let alone go clean off a bakery which takes double the time because it is now double the size it was. Plenty of other cons but I have already began to fall into the "Bitter retail worker" stereotype.