Ridiculous - Cafe Barista Marks & Spencer Employee Review

1.0
Nov 23, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The staff discount is the only good thing about working here

Cons

An absolutely shocking place to work I wouldn’t recommend ANYONE to work here. They expect you to do all the overtime in the world yet you get no thanks or appreciation for doing so. The Christmas hours are ridiculous, they pride themselves in letting their staff have Christmas Day and Boxing Day off yet they fail to inform the public that they make their staff work the days back. I worked in the cafe and I have never felt so run down and exhausted in all my life. We were constantly short staffed because new starters would never stay on long enough due to the poor working conditions. Which then also meant that myself and my colleagues would have to do the work of about 5 people at once - and then we’d further get told off for forgetting or missing to do things. I could list many more cons about this company but the final one that has really ticked me off is that I’m now being forced to pay them £500 because I’ve left the company. Even though I worked my notice. I asked them to explain to me what I owe them £500 for and they still have failed to show or explain to me what it is for. I will never work for this company ever again.

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Marks & Spencer Response
2y
Hi there, thanks for taking the time to leave your review and thanks for your honesty here. We know our colleague discount benefit is valued by lots of our colleagues so we're glad to hear you were able to make use of this. We're really disappointed to hear of your experience here and we'd like to take a moment to apologise for the way you felt during your time with us. The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is incredibly important to us at M&S and we're sorry to hear that you felt undervalued for the hard work you would have delivered over the festive period. We'd always advise our colleagues to link in with their Line Manager or their local BIG rep to discuss any issues with their hours or workload, as we want our colleagues to feel empowered to be at their best during their time with us. In regards to any HR-related queries, we have a great team of advisors available throughout the week who will be able to assist and guide you through any issues you might be having. If you'd like to reach out to the team on 0345 304 7474, they'll be happy to discuss this with you, and ensure you have the correct guidance when you need it. We're always looking for ways to improve, and to make sure our colleagues are fairly rewarded and recognised for the hard work they commit, especially over the festive period, so we'd like to thank you for your feedback. Marks and Spencer

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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
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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.

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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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