Breaking too many employment laws to count - Anonymous employee APEX Textiles Employee Review

1.0
Dec 15, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

All of my colleagues (store and office staff) were professional and talented, a pleasure to work with.

Cons

A job that seemed 'too good to be true' turned out to be exactly that. Staff were treated incredibly poorly. I watched employee after employee quit, or be terminated without cause - the staff turnover is exceptionally high. A company that had the potential to be extremely successful, due to its talented, hard-working staff, was unfortunately a stressful experience for all involved. Shop staff worked up to 20 consecutive days without a day off, and any expression of concern by coworkers was met with adversity and rudeness. The management refused to acknowledge working regulations and laws, frequently miscalculated pay, denied holiday and, eventually, forbid staff from talking to one another - monitored throughout the working day on CCTV. Working outside of contracted hours (including weekends) was treated as expected, without overtime pay or holiday in lieu.

Explore other reviews about APEX Textiles

1.0
Jul 10, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pays slightly more than minimum wage at £8.50 an hour. The customers are nice. Staff get 35% discount but have to use it online instead of in the store. (then you have to pay postage?!)

Cons

Bonus system constantly changes so that you can never actually achieve it, it changed 3 times during my year there. You will never receive the bonus. Very high pressured, I was asked to stand in the street in the rain handing out leaflets when I was working alone and had no customers (this happens a lot!!). Everybody who works there has to send and receive a daily report to the owner, you receive this even on your days off. The owners are not experienced in retail. CCTV installed everywhere except for the toilet, staff are watched using the owners phone. If you are sick and need to close the shop during your shift you are fined 2 x however many hours the shop was closed from your paycheck. Very strange contract. There is a lot of time when there is nothing to do/the shop is empty and clean, however you are not allowed to sit down and must find something to do. During winter it can be very quiet/few customers.

2
APEX Textiles Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. Yes, we offer very generous salary package compared to other retail shops. We offer great bonus package for staff with good sales skills and excellent work performance. 35% staff discount is offered for staff's online purchase. Postage fee or free shipping apply same way as any other customer orders. Daily reports are mandatory as part of daily work through email to your managers however not to yourself. CCTVs are installed for shop security purposes and the footage is recorded on a hard drive for any police investigation. This is commonly practiced in retail shops. We kindly recommend you to carefully read your contract before accepting it so to avoid misunderstandings like these. Work nature differs from one place to another. When the shop is quiet, there are other organising tasks to do. We trust our staff and majority of our staff have been working since the shop opening or got promoted several occasions. Thank you again for your feedback. It helps us make us a better place and best of luck in your future endeavours - HR Manager.
5.0
Jan 11, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Excellent salary and job progression. I was promoted 5 months in the company. Salary pay is much higher than industrial average. Lovely environment to work. High quality products which always attract positive customer comments.

Cons

During low seasons it can be quiet but then there is enough other things to do. High shop standards as to reflect the quality of service and products the shop offers.

1
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