Pros
I kindly advise each person to "NOT" only look at general company comments but look at the site reviews. My job was based in Arklow, previous Sigma Aldrich site.
The reality is that Merck, acted without integrity in the matter of my employment, in stark contrast to the glowing brochures extolling the excellent culture of the Company. I have no doubt that Merck as an International Company, was genuine in our negotiations with regard to my remuneration, benefits package and relocation expenses which resulted in my decision of acceptance, turning down an equivalent offer from another global company with an excellent reputation. The Benefits package was that enjoyed by Merck employees, therefore including Health Insurance and Bonus etc. The relocation arrangements included adequate transport for myself and my goods and temporary accommodation for a month, up to a figure confirmed by phone and by email.
I was very pleased to have accepted employment with Merck at this point and happy to start incurring hotel and other expenses, trusting the agreed reimbursement arrangements would be honoured. Having embarked on my career with Merck with optimism and trust, things started to go wrong almost immediately on taking up my employment at the allocated site. DESPITE INCURRING HOTEL AND OTHER EXPENSES, PART OF THE AGREEMENT ON WHICH I HAD BASED MY DECISION TO CHOOSE EMPLOYMENT WITH MERCK WAS WITHDRAWN. From the answers received, the only conclusion I can reach is that whilst my initial employment by Merck International was clearly entered into on the basis of enthusiasm and mutual trust, this was not the position adopted by management and HR who clearly had no desire to make my position tenable. My initial impressions of the potential for a mutually beneficial career with Merck, given its reputation and published culture, have been dashed by the breach of trust and contractual obligations and failure to resolve the ensuing issues, including my justifiable responses. It also came to my attention that employees at the site are in a long term dispute with regard to the non-adoption of the Merck Terms and Conditions of Employment locally and feel sure that this is the cause of my problems, arriving as the only employee with these Merck benefits. I can understand the dilemma this created and this was instrumental in my offer to put the issue aside and “get on with the job”. However, the failure to recognize my mistreatment led to my immediate resignation as I will not tolerate being treated unfairly at any cost and level.
Cons
Very bad non-positive workplace, site employees have very low morale “will such the life out of you”. From day 1 everyone asked me why I choose to work in the Arklow site, everyone encouraged me to cut my losses as there is no career progression, employees are treated unfairly and not respected. I am an ambitious person, I quickly realized that I would be stuck in an un-progressive job as career development is non-existent, unless you are lucky enough to move to other global sites.
