I worked in the gift wrapping department in 2014 for about 3 weeks. I was sacked along with 5 other people with no explanation or warning. When I complained about it I was offered another position in a different department but declined.
1. Can you summarise the ethnic makeup of workforce and your interpretation of their work time experience?
I would estimate the workforce was 50/60% Polish agency workers in my factory, with about 30% being British and everyone else from other countries, i.e. Romania, Spain, Pakistan. The supervisors were about 50/50 Polish and British. The Polish workers did 12 hour shifts while everyone else did 8 hours. I do not know how much they are paid but I assume it is less than the UK citizens.
I got on well with many of the Polish workers but there was some resentment among the British people there who probably felt a bit marginalised. Many of them were temps and Poole has quite low immigration so I think a lot of them were not used to working with non-British people. Also several times instructions were given in Polish which meant any non-Polish speakers didn’t know what to do. The warehouse was disorganised and chaotic.
The Polish workers seemed quite content and most of the complaints came from the British workers for whom the working conditions were worse than in most jobs in the UK. It seemed to me that Lush was exploiting the Polish workers because they would put up with the conditions more than the Brits.
2. Can you describe your average day?
Arrive, and start working. Not given any instructions so usually just start where there is a space and then get moved. 2 x 10 minute breaks and 1×20 minute break (I think!)
There are production lines for packing the gift boxes and productions lines for wrapping them. I was mostly wrapping. They were often very disorganised. Supervisors often shouted commands in a very disrespectful and sometimes extremely condescending and petulant manner, and were quick to chastise individual workers if we missed targets rather than looking at their procedures.
3. Were there discounts on products and how much?
50% discount in store and occasionally we were given free imperfect soaps, bath bombs etc. Free coffee machine in staff room (if it was actually unlocked during your breaks!)
4. Anything else deemed relevant to your experience.
Generally quite unprofessional and disorganised management. Unrealistic targets and condescending supervisors (actually the Polish supervisors were usually nicer than the British ones).
The lack of adequate training or mentoring made everyone feel expendable and undervalued.
There is a radio which plays extremely loud horrid music throughout the warehouse. I asked the manager if I could use headphones because the music was ‘affecting my health and wellbeing’ and it was declined. There is no water provided and you are usually frowned at if you go to the bathroom. Please note that the Royal Mail sorting office across the road allows you to use one headphone, and you can go for comfort breaks when you need to.
On my first day I had recently been in hospital and had been advised by the doctor not to lift things which were too heavy. I wrote this on the starter form, but when we arrived we were set straight to work without any induction and it was so chaotic and busy that I did not even know who the supervisor was to tell them that I couldn’t lift things.
I’m sure most of these things are irrelevant but it gives you an idea of the place!
Copy of the complaint I sent to HR dept about the unfair dismissal. They were unable to give me a reason why I was sacked:
On Thursday 9th October I was dismissed from work at the Gifts Department after only three weeks of working there. Six of us were herded into the office during our shift and informed by the manager (who we had previously never even heard of) quickly informed us that we were to be given a week’s notice because we were ‘not right for the role’ and that the decision was ‘based on performance’. We were then unceremoniously sent home.
As far as I was aware I was doing a good job; I was consistently punctual for my shifts and worked hard to be efficient and also produce work of good quality. Certainly no indication or warning was given to me that I may be dismissed for poor performance.
I have never been dismissed from any job and so this came as quite a shock to me. Some of the other people who were also dismissed deserved it; they were often late or absent from their shifts, and were often causing disruptions and chatting or using their phones while they should have been working. So I was very unhappy to have been placed in the same category as them after all my hard work.
This is especially upsetting for me as I had a sincere interest in Lush products and their ethics, and was looking forward to working my way up to establishing a career as a compounder.
I am writing to request a full explanation why I was dismissed and how the decision was reached, and I believe that to deny me this is unfair and reveals a lack of respect for the employee which I would never have expected from an ‘ethical’ company.
Many thanks and kind regards,
XXXXXXXX
Their reply:
Re. the email you sent we were unable to get clear feedback for you. We have been informed that it would be possible for a transfer to another department if this is something that would be of interest to you. Please give the office a call on 01202 785407 by Tuesday 28th October otherwise we will assume this is not of interest to you.
Kind regards,
Alex
