Working at Lidl (Store Management)
Discussion
BelfastBlack said:
What an eye opener! Thank you so much for all the detailed replies and especially the PM from fossilfuelled. I hope you feel better soon and maybe use this downtime to think about what's important.
I've decided I'm not going to go to the interview and the job search will continue. I enjoy fixing things and working with my hands and I have an engineering degree so maybe some kind of front line maintenance would suit me better than the office job.
I've always said that too many men are tricked into thinking they need to provide money for their families when what they actually need to provide is time and love to their children. If I went for this job I would be prioritising the money and would either be absent or too tired to see my son grow up.
Thanks again for showing me this isn't the right move.
Good choice. Nice to see someone listening to views on PH for once.I've decided I'm not going to go to the interview and the job search will continue. I enjoy fixing things and working with my hands and I have an engineering degree so maybe some kind of front line maintenance would suit me better than the office job.
I've always said that too many men are tricked into thinking they need to provide money for their families when what they actually need to provide is time and love to their children. If I went for this job I would be prioritising the money and would either be absent or too tired to see my son grow up.
Thanks again for showing me this isn't the right move.
@Markcozznotz
My daughter was underpaid every week she worked for Lidl and made herself unpopular by insisting she received what was due which took a good deal of effort.
It is hard to keep track of your hours as an individual as they change constantly. However everyone clocks in and out so there should be an accurate record of hours worked, strange that everyone was underpaid at some time but there has never been a report of anyone receiving too much by mistake.
My daughter was owed a weeks pay when she left and never received a penny .
My daughter was underpaid every week she worked for Lidl and made herself unpopular by insisting she received what was due which took a good deal of effort.
It is hard to keep track of your hours as an individual as they change constantly. However everyone clocks in and out so there should be an accurate record of hours worked, strange that everyone was underpaid at some time but there has never been a report of anyone receiving too much by mistake.
My daughter was owed a weeks pay when she left and never received a penny .
I'm current with said company but in the south. You looking at nuts corner region ? Its certainty not for everyone but the above comments seem strange to me.. Maybe the UK is different. I've never had issues with pay, higher ups etc. I can go on but if you've got some specific questions Im more than happy to answer if you've not given up altogether : ) ( not a 1st post I have log in issues ) long time member if that means anything
Jaybmw said:
I'm current with said company but in the south. You looking at nuts corner region ? Its certainty not for everyone but the above comments seem strange to me.. Maybe the UK is different. I've never had issues with pay, higher ups etc. I can go on but if you've got some specific questions Im more than happy to answer if you've not given up altogether : ) ( not a 1st post I have log in issues ) long time member if that means anything
If, by "The South", you mean Eire, then the blog the OP linked to and most of the comments on there are also from Ireland! Maybe you're in a lucky store, or things have changes in the last decade?hairyben said:
Is lidl really that bad and markedly worse than similar stores?
I worked as an off licence manager for 14 years and it was mostly fun...there were bad parts, recognising and banning shoplifters. My staff and I were expected to be at work and ready for store opening at 10am and we were paid from 10am. I usually arrived a few minutes beforehand, though was often told that other managers would be in their shops 1/2 hour early - more fool them was my reply. We shut at 10pm and that was when our payment stopped. It was rare that any of us stayed later than 2205 - though if you get a load of customers all pile in just before 10pm then you were obliged to serve them.
Perhaps that will stop some readers being inconsiderate and arriving before any store closes in the future
We didn't get official breaks as we could have coffee/tea/snacks when there were no customers around - which was when the cleaning, stock counts, filling shelves also got done.
I was responsible for ensuring the shop opened and closed on time and perhaps that is where Lidl managers might be too harsh on their workers. If the workers didn't do it...then the manager would have to do it. Similarly, why they probably have so many deputy managers, so the burden can be passed/shared around. Also they'd need a certain number of key holders to open and close the store and be available for call outs.
If the manager is fair and good to their staff then the store runs smoothly and everyone is happy including Head Office. It's the manager's job to ensure that happens - so often it doesn't.
Not Lidl. but their German competitor Aldi.
Several months ago, Mrs WR was looking for a part time job, about fifteen hours a week, non stressful as she has worked at high pressure for thirty odd years in demanding jobs in the NHS and just wanted a fairly "easy" job for a bit of pin money..
I walked into my local Aldi and asked a nice lady who was working on the tills what they were like to work for?
She said fine, but they were very demanding and said don't even think about it if you were not able to scan at least 1000 items per hour through the till or you would be on your bike sharpish...
This made her mind up, having worked on the tills at Asda as a teenager, this didn't phase her, but she didn't really need the stress at her time of life.
Seems like the pay is not too bad but they definitely want their pound of flesh....(Which is fair enough, it's a competitive industry).
Several months ago, Mrs WR was looking for a part time job, about fifteen hours a week, non stressful as she has worked at high pressure for thirty odd years in demanding jobs in the NHS and just wanted a fairly "easy" job for a bit of pin money..
I walked into my local Aldi and asked a nice lady who was working on the tills what they were like to work for?
She said fine, but they were very demanding and said don't even think about it if you were not able to scan at least 1000 items per hour through the till or you would be on your bike sharpish...
This made her mind up, having worked on the tills at Asda as a teenager, this didn't phase her, but she didn't really need the stress at her time of life.
Seems like the pay is not too bad but they definitely want their pound of flesh....(Which is fair enough, it's a competitive industry).
BelfastBlack said:
What an eye opener! Thank you so much for all the detailed replies and especially the PM from fossilfuelled. I hope you feel better soon and maybe use this downtime to think about what's important.
I've decided I'm not going to go to the interview and the job search will continue. I enjoy fixing things and working with my hands and I have an engineering degree so maybe some kind of front line maintenance would suit me better than the office job.
I've always said that too many men are tricked into thinking they need to provide money for their families when what they actually need to provide is time and love to their children. If I went for this job I would be prioritising the money and would either be absent or too tired to see my son grow up.
Thanks again for showing me this isn't the right move.
For the love of god, don’t take a job you hate for the money. Easy to say but when you’ve got the kid, mortgage etc it’s very tempting. However, it’s not worth the stress, desperation and general misery of getting up every day to do something you hate.I've decided I'm not going to go to the interview and the job search will continue. I enjoy fixing things and working with my hands and I have an engineering degree so maybe some kind of front line maintenance would suit me better than the office job.
I've always said that too many men are tricked into thinking they need to provide money for their families when what they actually need to provide is time and love to their children. If I went for this job I would be prioritising the money and would either be absent or too tired to see my son grow up.
Thanks again for showing me this isn't the right move.
My sister tried shop floor working with them. Shelf stacking, facing up, cleaning, all normal stuff, but no set breaks, you got one if you were lucky.
It was at the checkouts where the real graft starts, because the customers do not realise that the operator is monitored on how quickly they scan items through.
Customers are supposed to load their purchases straight into their trolley, then go and bag their stuff somewhere else.
Customers faffing about, bagging at the checkout, and slowing down the scan can, and will, get the operator sacked.
In her humble opinion you'd have to be desperate to work there longer than a week.
It was at the checkouts where the real graft starts, because the customers do not realise that the operator is monitored on how quickly they scan items through.
Customers are supposed to load their purchases straight into their trolley, then go and bag their stuff somewhere else.
Customers faffing about, bagging at the checkout, and slowing down the scan can, and will, get the operator sacked.
In her humble opinion you'd have to be desperate to work there longer than a week.
Perhaps Lidl is at the extreme end of things, but working for the chain who insist that every little helps was no much different.
I was on their 'management training' program being paid as a team leader rather than a qualified manager for more than two months while doing the manager's job. Their excuse was that to be 'signed off' I had to have 8 weekly 1-to-1 meetings with my line manager to asses my performance before the store manager would review my pay. My line manager was covering at another store and wouldn't arrange the meetings.
60 hour weeks were normal, arriving at 6.30am and not leaving until near 7 in the evening on a daily basis with a 20 minute sandwich break for lunch.
Never again.
I was on their 'management training' program being paid as a team leader rather than a qualified manager for more than two months while doing the manager's job. Their excuse was that to be 'signed off' I had to have 8 weekly 1-to-1 meetings with my line manager to asses my performance before the store manager would review my pay. My line manager was covering at another store and wouldn't arrange the meetings.
60 hour weeks were normal, arriving at 6.30am and not leaving until near 7 in the evening on a daily basis with a 20 minute sandwich break for lunch.
Never again.
romeogolf said:
Perhaps Lidl is at the extreme end of things, but working for the chain who insist that every little helps was no much different.
I was on their 'management training' program being paid as a team leader rather than a qualified manager for more than two months while doing the manager's job. Their excuse was that to be 'signed off' I had to have 8 weekly 1-to-1 meetings with my line manager to asses my performance before the store manager would review my pay. My line manager was covering at another store and wouldn't arrange the meetings.
60 hour weeks were normal, arriving at 6.30am and not leaving until near 7 in the evening on a daily basis with a 20 minute sandwich break for lunch.
Never again.
I believe Tesco have always been very top heavy with too many managers and team leaders. Not sure about the senior managers but at my local Tesco superstore the team leaders seem to spend most of the time standing around talking while the shelf stackers work their bI was on their 'management training' program being paid as a team leader rather than a qualified manager for more than two months while doing the manager's job. Their excuse was that to be 'signed off' I had to have 8 weekly 1-to-1 meetings with my line manager to asses my performance before the store manager would review my pay. My line manager was covering at another store and wouldn't arrange the meetings.
60 hour weeks were normal, arriving at 6.30am and not leaving until near 7 in the evening on a daily basis with a 20 minute sandwich break for lunch.
Never again.
ks off. I have never seen a manager stacking a shelf like I have in Sainsbury's or Asda.Countdown said:
Given the stress that Uber, Deliveroo et al are getting about Employees Rights, how are Lidl getting way with it?
It sounds like ideal material for Undercover TV.....
^this I've got family members who have and do work in retail management and it seems completely normal to do massive amounts of unpaid overtime. I don't know how they get away with it? It's seems to be a culture of thinking they are doing it for fellow work mate's not the company it's mad. It sounds like ideal material for Undercover TV.....
I’m a store manager in retail. Or rather the manager of a group of stores.
I work for an employer who is notorious for poor conditions - I’ve never found them to be bad. My contract states I’m employed to manage the business and that might mean unpaid overtime and getting up in the middle of the night to sort out alarm calls. My average week is 50 hours.
I do what I need to hit my KPIs and trade profitable stores.
It’s a damn sight easier and less stressful than running your own business!
I work for an employer who is notorious for poor conditions - I’ve never found them to be bad. My contract states I’m employed to manage the business and that might mean unpaid overtime and getting up in the middle of the night to sort out alarm calls. My average week is 50 hours.
I do what I need to hit my KPIs and trade profitable stores.
It’s a damn sight easier and less stressful than running your own business!
SebastienClement said:
I’m a store manager in retail. Or rather the manager of a group of stores.
I work for an employer who is notorious for poor conditions - I’ve never found them to be bad. My contract states I’m employed to manage the business and that might mean unpaid overtime and getting up in the middle of the night to sort out alarm calls. My average week is 50 hours.
I do what I need to hit my KPIs and trade profitable stores.
It’s a damn sight easier and less stressful than running your own business!
I think you're missing one key point on the unpaid overtime though.I work for an employer who is notorious for poor conditions - I’ve never found them to be bad. My contract states I’m employed to manage the business and that might mean unpaid overtime and getting up in the middle of the night to sort out alarm calls. My average week is 50 hours.
I do what I need to hit my KPIs and trade profitable stores.
It’s a damn sight easier and less stressful than running your own business!
As a regional manager, I would assume that even in retail, you're paid significantly more than minimum wage, so like me in my completely different job, you're willing to accept the unpaid overtime, since as you say, you're employed to manage the business, not necessarily just to work a set number of hours.
Where it becomes a problem is if you've got minimum wage employees. There, as soon as they're working even a minute of unpaid overtime, you're officially breaking employment law.
SebastienClement said:
It’s a damn sight easier and less stressful than running your own business!
That surely depends on the type of business, whether it's successful or not, and if you have any employees with all the responsibilities that entails.I would not think there are many on PH who do not suffer some stress at work, whether they are minimum wage warehouse workers or millionaire businessmen/women. It's how you deal with it.
At the end of the day you can only eat three meals a day and drive one car at a time.
It's more important to be happy in life.
Google The contented fisherman.
Kermit power said:
I think you're missing one key point on the unpaid overtime though.
As a regional manager, I would assume that even in retail, you're paid significantly more than minimum wage, so like me in my completely different job, you're willing to accept the unpaid overtime, since as you say, you're employed to manage the business, not necessarily just to work a set number of hours.
Where it becomes a problem is if you've got minimum wage employees. There, as soon as they're working even a minute of unpaid overtime, you're officially breaking employment law.
Sorry my reply was firmly about working as store management - i can’t imagine any business that wouldn’t expect its salaried employees to work more than 39 hours where necessary.As a regional manager, I would assume that even in retail, you're paid significantly more than minimum wage, so like me in my completely different job, you're willing to accept the unpaid overtime, since as you say, you're employed to manage the business, not necessarily just to work a set number of hours.
Where it becomes a problem is if you've got minimum wage employees. There, as soon as they're working even a minute of unpaid overtime, you're officially breaking employment law.
Unpaid overtime for hourly rate employees, certainly in my business, would be a local issue to the store in question. If any of employees are not paid for overtime that is MY fault and is inexcusable. Whether there is a culture of this between managers, and ‘unwritten rules’ from above is very much open to debate though!
Hello? Guinness Book of Records??Someone I knew left a 40 hour full time job in retail , to a slightly better paid full time job at Lidl.
Except the 40 hour week became 20/25 hours a week over strange timings for the start of his shift.
Monitored all the time , he was over 1100 items per hour through the till and was expected to get quicker.
Fifteen minutes to stack a pallet full of stock onto the shelves iirc.
The main thing was that he enjoyed his job.
Horses for courses.
Except the 40 hour week became 20/25 hours a week over strange timings for the start of his shift.
Monitored all the time , he was over 1100 items per hour through the till and was expected to get quicker.
Fifteen minutes to stack a pallet full of stock onto the shelves iirc.
The main thing was that he enjoyed his job.
Horses for courses.
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