Avoid if you’re an ethnic minority - Product Designer Marks & Spencer Employee Review

2.0
Mar 31, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Staff discount and some good people. Great experience and a respected name to add to your CV.

Cons

Where can I start? In the beginning, I was incredibly proud and happy to work at M&S. However, over time, I realised that despite my hard work and dedication and great end of year reviews , I wasn’t progressing due to bias from certain individuals. I often felt I was treated differently because I am different, even though I consistently gave my best and worked extremely hard. I was overlooked because I didn’t fit a particular image or agenda held by some senior managers.

avatar
Marks & Spencer Response
3mo
Hello, we appreciate your time given to write us feedback. Whilst it’s great to see you enjoyed our colleague discount perk, we are sorry to hear about the cons you have listed. This doesn’t sound like the way we do things at Marks and Spencer and completely goes against the values we've worked so hard to uphold. I would recommend that you contact our People Policy team at: peoplepolicyteam@marks-and-spencer.com, with your previous Colleague number, so that we can further look into this for you. I want to thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. Kind regards, Marks & Spencer.

Explore other reviews about Marks & Spencer

5.0
Aug 5, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I love how positive the working environment

Cons

I dont like some of the names of the bread

avatar
Marks & Spencer Response
11mo
Hi there, thanks so much for leaving such a great review – it’s lovely to hear that you enjoyed working for us! We're so grateful for your kind words, so thanks for sharing your review with us and the Glassdoor community. Our success relies on the dedication of employees like yourself, so we thank you for all your hard work! Wishing you all the best, Marks and Spencer
1.0
Jul 27, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-20% discount -I must enter 5 words

Cons

Never before have I worked for a company where the threat of gross misconduct is thrown around constantly by management. Senior members of staff have been given wrriten warnings over sudden changes in policy. Instead of carrot and stick you're just given the stick. A sudden change in policy comes in and immediately a TM or TSM will tell you "if you can't do this you will recieve a written warning or disciplinary." That is a best case scenario, the alternative is nobody tells you and you continue to do everything as normal and you get punished for an absolute absence of communication. Regional managers pressure Store Managers to hand out punishments like quotas. Worst of all, the company promotes immature and lazy managers for the most part, who will happily stand around doing absolutely nothing, but drive workers aged 60+ like a cart horse. Sorting basic worker's rights like annual leave is a chore to them, and they act as though they are doing you a favour when you do the bare minimum. Favouritism in my store is endemic. Not all managers are like this, my store manager just happens to like a handful of staff and puts down everyone else.

2
avatar
Marks & Spencer Response
11mo
Thanks for raising your concerns. We're really sorry to hear you’re unhappy and we want you to know that at M&S, we care deeply about doing the right thing and acting with integrity, building trust, supporting one another and taking the time to listen. You have already addressed the first step of voicing your views on here, and now we encourage you to talk to your Line Manager. If you feel you cannot approach your Line Manager, then tell a more senior person or someone who you feel most at ease with, for example your BIG rep or your HR Business Partner. Thanks again for sharing, - Marks and Spencer
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All