Unethical, Unproffesional and high-pressure - Retail Sales Associate H.Samuel Employee Review

This is by far the worst company I have ever worked for. I have worked in several branches and only some allow you your full break allocation. You are expected to turn up and begin work 15 minutes before each shift without pay and if the issue of breaks is raised then you are told off for creating an atmosphere. A 16 hour contract receives a £30 uniform allowance per year. However this is received in September so they can conveniently avoid paying Christmas temps for an expensive and strict uniform. Rotas were supposed to be given four weeks in advance yet I regularly received mine one week at a time. I was also allowed little choice on when I could take my holidays. Head-office are impersonal and do not treat staff with respect. Most stores do not hit commission and there are strict and overly high sales targets you are pressured to hit. You are also expected to memorise the same script and use it with every customer. Alongside jewellery sales you are expected to sell insurance and can get in trouble for not hitting targets. I have seen this high pressure environment create a nasty atmosphere in many stores which is not worth it for such a low wage and no commission. Despite hitting personal targets every month I never received commission as the store did not hit its overall targets. Employees are also expected to work both boxing day and Christmas with no extra rate of pay and no choice in the matter.