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      Marks & Spencer

      Engaged Employer

      Marks & Spencer reviews

      3.7

      63% would recommend to a friend

      (11,348 total reviews)
      avatar

      Stuart Machin

      66% approve of CEO

      50% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Marks & Spencer has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 11,348 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
      Nov 23, 2023

      Ridiculous

      Cafe barista
      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.

      avatar
      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
      1.0
      Nov 25, 2017

      Section Manager

      Section manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      20% discount is very generous. Trainee management program is excellent if you are actually given the time to properly complete the training and you have a decent mentor.

      Cons

      Frequently M&S treats its employees as one-size fits all. There seems to be little consideration of individual motivation or differing personalities, although they pay lip-service once you reach management level. Unfortunately, it seems that increasingly, the type of person the business wants to employ as their Store Managers is the bullying type. The business has also adopted a policy of 'Managing Your Bottom 5%' which essentially means 5% of every team needs to be performance managed (frequently in the negative sense rather than the stretching management of the highest performers), this has created a very negative and unpleasant atmosphere in stores. Internal promotion from Section Manager level is practically non-existent and movement into Head Office from Stores literally never occurs unless you are a D Band Store Manager.

      1.0
      Mar 28, 2024

      Do not be fooled. All that glitters is not gold!!

      Project coordinator
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - 20% discount - Some coworkers great to work with and down to earth - Location was easy to get to - Opportunities to move to different areas of the business (albeit limited) - Reputable brand in the public eye (albeit behind closed doors it's another story)

      Cons

      - 20 days holiday a year is not competitive - Constant restructuring - Lack of proper onboarding and training (I was told the that training was reserved for a higher bands and was eventually invited to a basic fundamentals day instead which was great foundational knowledge but did not help with my role) - Poor management and leadership (4 managers in 18 months is unsettling for most, the good ones don't stay long and the bad ones do) - High turnover rate (people constantly disappearing, being made redundant or leaving once they realise how things are) - Outdated tools and processes (excel & powerpoint for everything was not efficient and any request for new tools were declined) - Fear of expressing honest feedback (it is always used against you) ///Read my 'advice to management' for more details\\\

      avatar
      Marks & Spencer Response
      2y
      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. 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
      Viewing 10 - 12 of 11,348 Reviews
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      ReviewsMarks & Spencer reviews

      Glassdoor has 12,937 Marks & Spencer reviews submitted anonymously by Marks & Spencer employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Marks & Spencer is right for you.