Pros
- There are some genuinely kind and supportive colleagues in the organisation. - Flexibility is possible in some roles, and some colleagues were able to benefit from it. Personally, however, I did not experience the advertised flexibility. I was expected to work almost standard 9–5 hours, and attempts to adjust this/find more flexibility weren't met with enthusiasm..
Cons
- Staff shortages and empty promises – In my role there was a constant staff shortage that only kept getting worse. My colleagues and I raised this repeatedly for months, and the head of the department kept promising that someone would be hired “soon.” In reality, it took from July one year until February the next to hire someone. In that time, two people left and only one person was hired, so the team actually became smaller rather than larger. Despite this, we were constantly told that help was coming soon while the pressure and expectations remained high. This led to significant stress across the team, with some colleagues becoming so overwhelmed that they had to take special leave. - Limited opportunities for progression – Career progression is effectively controlled by your manager. If they don’t want you to move on from your post, you simply won’t. All it takes is a “no” from them and you cannot apply for internal roles. This creates an unhealthy power dynamic where your career progression depends more on your manager’s preferences/organisation's preferences than on your ability, performance or ambition. - Pay – The pay is honestly terrible. Real pay progression barely exists. There are occasional inflation adjustments, but they are very small and make little difference. You might expect that lower pay would at least come with more reasonable expectations, but that is not the case at all. Expectations remain extremely high at all times. - Strong grade hierarchy (“gradism”) – The organisation is heavily driven by grade hierarchy. People openly refer to colleagues by their grade, such as “Band B” or “Band D,” which feels very strange and uncomfortable. It creates a culture where people are defined by their grade rather than their contribution. Band B staff in particular seem undervalued, despite often doing a large amount of the work and taking on responsibilities far beyond what they are paid for, while higher bands receive better pay and often less day-to-day workload. - Favouritism and internal politics – If management likes you, you will go far. If they don’t, or if you don’t fit their agenda, you can easily find yourself pushed away from opportunities and indirectly pressured toward leaving the organisation.Internal politics and favouritism play a larger role than they should. Hit-and-miss management – Some colleagues were fortunate enough to have supportive managers, but that was not my experience. The management I encountered was unsupportive and often misleading. Concerns about workload and understaffing were dismissed with comments such as “that’s just how the role is.” Promises were frequently made but rarely followed through. Overall experience – When I recently left, I genuinely felt like I had made a huge mistake by rejecting another opportunity to work for Companies House. The promises of a fantastic working culture, flexibility, and a supportive environment fell far short of reality. The role I ended up in was not what had been described on the job advert or during the interview, the team was constantly understaffed, and we were expected to go above and beyond, while our concerns were largely ignored. I also experienced a very questionable situation personally, which I tried to raise with senior management. Unsurprisingly, nothing meaningful was done about it. The person who treated me poorly still works there, unaffected, while my probation was ultimately failed due to the impact that situation had on me. My mental health deteriorated significantly because of the work environment and the way I was treated, which inevitably affected my performance. Despite all the talk within the organisation about how important mental health is, the actual support offered was minimal and largely symbolic. The process of being let go was also handled poorly. It took over a month for them to make a decision, leaving me in constant uncertainty. My counselling sessions were also abruptly cut short, meaning I was only able to attend some of the six sessions that I had been offered. Since leaving, the experience has continued to be frustrating. I still have not received a payslip that I requested over two weeks ago, and despite it now being more than 20 days, I still have no clear instructions on how to return my work equipment. Overall, the experience left me feeling extremely disappointed and disillusioned. There is far more discrimination, internal politics, and questionable behaviour happening within the organisation than people realise.
