Pros
Cellmark has served me exceptionally well by setting the benchmark of how not to be treated by an employer. The most enjoyable part of working for Cellmark was receiving my P45 and knowing the literal nightmare was finally over. I have since gained a Master's degree and had a few other roles within forensics - Cellmark remains the single-worst company and culture for which I've had the misfortune to work.
Cons
A typical day at work involved being encouraged to ask questions whenever I was unsure but then being spoken to in a condescending manner by colleagues exaggerating my accent rather than helping me. I was often given incorrect information by my superiors about how to process crime scene evidence and then castigated for doing exactly what I had been told to do. Whenever I stood up for myself, I was ignored for the rest of the shift. It was painfully clear early on that I was not going to fit in here. I was discouraged from keeping any written records despite proving on multiple occasions that verbal feedback provided for performance reviews - forming the basis of a probation extension and improvement plan - had been exaggerated or was untruthful. I was given no opportunity to appeal any of this. An Occupational Therapy report about me was misleading, incorrect, and quoted me having said things I did not say in a grammar and syntax I do not use. Consequently, I was not given any necessary support at work. After six months in the role, I was hit by a car and sustained serious injuries resulting in me being absent from work for several months. During this time, despite fulfilling my contractual obligations around reporting sickness absence, I was often contacted by staff who attempted to compel me to provide information I had already provided, insisting I do this over the phone rather than in writing. I also reported to HR that information I provided to only one specific person was subsequently included in private messages I received from multiple colleagues, meaning a breach of my confidential healthcare information. This was ultimately escalated to director level, at which point all of my concerns were dismissed and I was threatened with termination of my contract instead. I resigned with immediate effect and would have pursued legal action but for the severe toll this took on my physical and mental health combined with recovering from the injuries I sustained after being hit by a car. My experience was that the culture here is one that thrives on cliques and heaven forfend you don't fit in. You are bullied with impunity, demonstrably untrue information/feedback is used to unjustly punish you in some way, and even at Director level your concerns will be completely disregarded and met with them threatening to terminate your contract even though you've fulfilled your contractual obligations. The hardest part of the job was justifying everything I experienced there as a sufficient reward for working exceptionally hard to earn a 1st Class Honours degree and relocating to Abingdon for a low salary relative to the expense of living there.