Marks & Spencer reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(11,359 total reviews)
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Stuart Machin

67% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Marks & Spencer has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 11,359 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Marks & Spencer 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

11K reviews
1.0
Jan 10, 2023

Misery & Stress rather than Magic & Sparkle

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

20% discount on M&S branded items including food, clothing and home. Some lovely colleagues and managers, but not everyone is helpful, supportive, positive and caring, it can be quite mixed and therefore stressful. 5 out of 7 managers over time were incredibly supportive, helpful, fair and positive. 2 of out 7 managers caused so many problems, and not just for me.

Cons

Some colleagues and managers (around 5%) were unhelpful, unsupportive, uncooperative and negative in their behaviour. Team work was weak and poor at times, some inability to think customer first. Insufficient technology, specifically hand held terminals, increasing pressures when serving customers. Overworked and under pressure during peak season. In 2021, worked every day of Christmas week with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so too tired too enjoy the Christmas season. A very mixed skill and ability set for the same pay rate, so too much pressure on key top performers. Some managers should have been placed in charge of trolleys, rather than people. The impact of poor management created serious consequences in terms of health, safety and wellbeing. More unexpectedly difficult challenges than the role should have included, due to issues with managers, colleagues, logistics, equipment and support.

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Marks & Spencer Response
3y
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and for your honesty. We're disappointed to hear the concerns you’ve raised and would like to take this opportunity to apologise for how you felt during your time with us. 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. As a business we want to make sure that all of our Colleagues feel supported and enjoy being a part of the Marks and Spencer family. As the issues you've raised are serious, we'd hope that our Colleagues know that they can raise their concerns to another Manager if they're not supported by their own, or reach out to their local Big Rep. thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. Marks and Spencer
3.0
Jan 5, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong pay relative to other big retailers in London in similar roles. Diverse employees of all ages, backgrounds...

Cons

Poor leadership dictated by Stuart Machin who has an extremely direct style of management that could sometimes be interpreted as aggresive, uncollaborative or even bullying. A carefully planned week could be hijacked by a seemingly illogical / unreasonable request from SM often spooked by store feedback.

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Marks & Spencer Response
3y
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We do all we can to keep an eye on the market and make sure we’re rewarding our Colleagues fairly. We take great pride in our diverse workforce, acknowledging where we could do better and making the changes needed to ensure we recruit, retain and develop diverse talent. As a business we are on a transformational journey and recently launched a Tech Strategy, with the vision to be an agile business with Technology at its heart. Thanks for sharing your concerns and we’re sorry you feel this way. We would always recommend colleagues link in with their Line Manager or BIG Rep to discuss any concerns or reasonable adjustments. We’re always looking for ways to improve, so we'll make sure your comments are fed back. Marks and Spencer
2.0
Nov 16, 2022

Bullying culture do not join

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary-Paid well Sharesave Pensions Good location Nice office

Cons

Bullying culture in Buying & Merchandising never addressed Less benefits than when I started such as food at work Long hours Hard to get a promotion in Buying and Merchandising as so many never leave the role but if you get one has good pay and benefits If you're in Buying and Merchandising almost 0% chance of working part-time or being demoted to an admin role to work part-time Very hierarchical and very much promotions based on who you suck up to

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Marks & Spencer Response
3y
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and for your honesty. We're disappointed to hear the concerns you’ve raised and would like to take this opportunity to apologise for how you felt during your time with us. 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, so we'll make sure your comments are fed back. As a business we want to make sure that all of our Colleagues feel supported and enjoy being a part of the Marks and Spencer family. As the issues you've raised are serious, we'd hope that our Colleagues know that they can raise their concerns to another Manager if they're not supported by their own, or reach out to their local Big Rep. We also have a team of Policy Specialists which thoroughly investigate all formal grievances raised. Thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. Marks and Spencer
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