9 Reviews
Work-life balance can be very good, at least for non-managers. Good place if you have a family and a life outside of work and just want a 9-to-5. Engineering culture and standards are improving. Pay (outside of London at least) is competitive-ish by current market standards since the recent cost-of-living raise, although will never match big tech or high finance. Very good benefits: pension contribution, holidays, private healthcare. The work can be quite varied. Good place to learn for graduates. People are mostly nice and supportive.
Poor developer experience and ways of working: constant switching between two laptops with different OSs as required for different tasks and access, and this has only worsened over the years. Some engineers still can't copy-and-paste on internal sites and channels. Company culture has become toxic over the last year or so, especially since the Values were introduced: the execs' behaviour and decisions contradict these values, and they've been weaponised and used against employees who dare to disagree with anything. Increasingly authoritarian leadership with little tolerance for disagreement, and middle managers are forced to toe the line and pretend everything is good. A lot of "toxic positivity". Constant reorganisations, frequent team moves, and heavy reliance on third-party consultants make having any long-term vision difficult. No IC career progression beyond senior/lead; management is the only way up. Levels and salary bands are very wide (e.g. Grade E covers everything from mid-level to tech lead) and there's little or no ability to move within your band as you gain experience and responsibilities. Flexible working benefits are being taken away and 2 days per week in office for all will start being enforced very soon. The current senior leaders are going back to antiquated ideas about productivity and collaboration, in spite of great performance and result during the pandemic. Vicious circle of engineering leads who talk a good game but lack strong engineering knowledge or experience promoting others like themselves, resulting in bad decisions and priorities.
Around 200 children signed up to a special reading challenge in the Island’s capital.
Asos, the online fashion retailer, is facing deepening troubles after its biggest lenders hired advisers in a move that could pave the way for a formal financial restructuring.