Taken for Granted and Ignore Bulling. Only positive is the discount - Customer Assistant Marks & Spencer Employee Review

3.0
Sep 29, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

20% staff discount, evenings to try new ranges around christmas time, no zero hours contacts, opportunities to work extra hours when you want them.

Cons

Recently reported another member of staff being shouted at in an inappropriate way, reported this to my manager and was then told to keep my nose out of other peoples business. Apparently if you witness another member of staff being bullied at marks and spencers you should ignore it. They forget that the job isn't the be all and end all for a lot of their employees especially students. I have always struggled to adjust my hours, take holidays or change shifts during exam time. One of my shifts was during an exam and i was told i would have to prove that just to get my shift put back a few hours. Very rarely praised for doing a good job but always pulled up for doing the slightest thing wrong. They are currently in the process of cutting existing members of staffs wages to fall in line with living wage requirements. Never enough staff to do all the jobs expected, you are supposed to be available to help customers and visible on the shop floor at all times, whilst also keeping queues to a minimum, putting away stock etc. Bonus is dependant on how well the store does with customer feedback rather than how you perform as an individual you have he opportunity to earn £50 bonus per quater which does not compare to their main competitor of john lewis who give excellent bonus' Difficult to move out of certain departments as you need your current managers approval to let you go which they often won't allow despite being told they cannot block a move and progressing in the company.

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5.0
Aug 5, 2025
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Pros

I love how positive the working environment

Cons

I dont like some of the names of the bread

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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
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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
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