UK office - Andover - Anonymous employee Le Creuset Employee Review

If you enjoy having any autonomy over your work or being treated like an adult with a voice, i do not suggest you work at Le Creuset UK head office. When I look back at my time at LC I am honestly appalled by the way employees are treated on a personal level, least of all their flagrant disregard for talent. The senior management team is largely made of jumped up individuals who are fundamentally clueless when it comes to running a business function. They spend their time undermining the work and progression of the employees beneath them in an attempt to mask their own complete lack of ability and contempt for new ideas. There is a general lack of respect and trust awarded to the staff that fall lower within the hierarchy of the office, the presence of which is made abundently clear to you on an hourly basis. The UK company as a whole seems to entirely shun innovation, it's a stale and stifling environment where progression and thinking outside the box are actually frowned upon. Essentially - you will be required to be a robot who simply does as they are told by people who largely don't know what they're doing. I (and many other people) found that a bully culture is encouraged, in which those safe in the halo effect of the senior team will join in the undermining. I have witnessed people being talked down to, to the point of tears, on several occasions. This is well known by HR, who are essentially there to enable to the awful attitudes and working practises in the SMT. Do not be under any illusion that they are there for the people, they are absolutely not. The staff retention rate is actually very low, i'm not sure how HR have managed to twist it to look good but i will give them something - that is a very impressive display of imaginative thinking (probably the only example of such in the business). Those that stay seem to only do so as they live close by and there are few credible large businesses within the area. The above is a top-line overview of some of failings i experienced working at Le Creuset but it is also worth noting the following list of DON'TS (some of which are hilariously documented in the 'employee handbook', and may remind you of victorian school practise): If you are a lady, your skirt must NOT rise above the knee You will be told off for talking too loudly You may not take work related phone calls at your desk in case the noise of human interaction offends those around you You are not allowed to eat any 'strong smelling foods' You will be told off for talking in the corridors You are not allowed to talk about things that are not entirely relevant to work inside the office building, you must go outside.