Good company values undermined by shop-floor culture - Team Leader Co-op Employee Review

1.0
18 Dec 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The Team Leader role involved late shifts (2pm–10pm), including reductions and compliance-related tasks, which I was comfortable with and found fairly remunerated for a retail position. I worked alongside friendly, supportive team members and generally positive customers, which made the day-to-day work enjoyable.

Cons

My otherwise postive experience was negatively impacted by the behaviour of the existing management team. Despite my efforts, I was not made to feel included within the wider leadership team for reasons that were never explained. This included being excluded from team communication channels, conversations stopping upon my arrival, and unprofessional comments being made about my work without being addressed directly. I was regularly allocated undesirable shifts and was often required to work one on one during particularly busy periods, such as weekends or during nearby busy events. I was also blamed for issues outside of my responsibility and, on occasion, spoken to in a belittling manner over headsets in front of colleagues. Additionally, I was asked to complete mandatory online training in my own time with the assurance that it would be paid. When I later queried this, payment was repeatedly deferred and I was made to feel uncomfortable for asking, despite the original agreement. These ongoing issues appeared to be part of a wider culture within the long-standing management team and may help explain the high turnover of new staff.

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Co-op Response
5mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re pleased to hear that you found aspects of the role rewarding and enjoyed working alongside supportive colleagues and customers. We’re genuinely sorry to learn that you felt excluded and experienced challenges with communication and shift allocation. That’s not the experience we want for any colleague and we do hope that you spoke up about this at the time. While we can’t comment on individual situations, we’d like to reassure you that colleagues are not asked to complete mandatory training outside of working hours. Should you wish to share more information with us please complete the former colleague contact form at colleagues.coop.co.uk/contacts

Explore other reviews about Co-op

5.0
18 Aug 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good pay, great staff. Good shifts

Cons

Long hours. Too far from home

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Co-op Response
10mo
Thank you for your review and feedback. We're pleased to see that you were happy with your pay, shifts, and your colleagues.
3.0
8 Sept 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Team got on well, hours weren't particularly harsh (pay not particularly impressive either)

Cons

Overworked due to corporate ruthlessly cutting hours (while hiring more staff?), generally piling on more and more work to the store team without considering time constraints, absolutely no opportunity for advancement while a store manager is already there

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Co-op Response
9mo
Thank you for taking the time to submit a review, however, we believe that you have left this in error. Our Co-op is based in the United Kingdom and have no association with Co-operatives in the USA. We've advised Glassdoor to allocate your review to the correct organisation, but you may wish to review and edit this yourself to ensure your views are represented correctly.
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