Where do I start?
The whole UK branch of the company is simply dysfunctional. Promotions and career advancements are impossible without connections or friendships. Therefore, employees with great potential will be denied opportunities to further their careers while complete strangers or favourites will be put in key positions, regardless of their actual qualifications or level of competence.
The hourly paid is a joke and not a very funny one at that. For the minimum living wage in the UK (which was legally raised last year, leaving one to think that Boss would never have spontaneously revised salaries), one will be expected to work countless extra hours or days, see holiday requests denied, provide a five-star service under great pressure, no support, and in the greatest state of chaos. In the same vein, employees at the lowest levels are expected to work way beyond their job description and perform tasks such as merchandising, organising stock, writing reports, cleaning, booking in and out deliveries, sending countless emails, etc. Training is non-existent (let's face it Hugo Boss university and model store are a farce) and the balance between work and personal life is completely off.
The commission scheme is often used as a big incentive during recruitment. However, staff working in "quiet" stores will only receive a couple of dozens of pounds in the form of commissions at the end of the month and busier stores will quickly turn into crime scenes as sales assistants backstab each other for a fistful of dollars.
Logistics are weak to amateurish, with uniforms being delivered several months after due date, salaries not being paid correctly in the first few months, communication between stores being antiquated and therefore completely inefficient. As a vain effort to save pennies, the brand actually loses sales regularly due to bad allocations, awful buying and nonsensical decisions from top management.
Communication operates on various levels of negativity, intimidation, disdain, disgust or indifference. Most requests will be met with animosity; rejection or refusal to forcedly accept unsustainable or undesirable working conditions will be answered by threats (losing your job, plain and simple). Area managers seem to consider their employees as obstacles between themselves and success and will miss no opportunity to instill fear by making their staff understand who's in power.
As a result, morale is constantly at its lowest possible point and employees will take the first opportunity to leave. Consequently, shop floors are crowded with inexperienced staff who will care as little about the company as the company cares about them.
