Avoid like the plague if you value yourself and your time
Pros
- Some of the developments are quite high profile. - Some people think that Berkeley is the holy grail so it has the potential to have prestige on your CV.
Cons
- This is one of the most backward, antiquated and draconian companies I have ever encountered. The company is managed like a company from the 1980s. - Money is treated as its greatest asset, not its employees. - There are no maternity or paternity benefits. People on maternity/ paternity leave are often referred to as being 'on holiday'. - There is absolutely no way to work flexible hours. People who have special arrangements are by exception only and are told by senior management not to tell others of their arrangements. They are also joked about when they leave 'early'. - There are no options to work from home. - There is no payment for sick leave if you are in the first year of your employment (because new people cannot be trusted). - The pension benefits are pathetic in comparison with other FTSE100 companies. - The gender pay gap is atrocious. - People work under a 'climate of fear'. - Staff who are 5 minutes late are reprimanded. - Managing directors and senior management operate under the awe/ in the fear of Tony Pidgley, rather than having conviction in themselves. - Its computer systems are extremely outdated. Payroll, annual leave, invoice approvals, expenses are all paper-based (even though the company prides itself on its 'respect' for the plant). - The HR department undertakes administrative aspects of HR only, so all grievances, issues, etc have to be raised with the senior personnel an employee is working under. - Almost everyone is severely overworked. This stems from decisions dictated by the three people right at the top. The top cheese squeeze resources so much and rarely interface with people on the ground to witness the stressful conditions people are working in. Even MDs and directors are overworked and look bitterly exhausted. There are board meetings at 7am, often with pre-meets at 6am. There are sometimes site visits at 5am with no flexibility to offset these meetings. Core hours are 8.00-5.30pm but most people work overtime as a standard. - Employees are treated like cattle. Company divisions are frequently formed and reformed without any warning and people are moved around (in terms of role and geographical location) with next to no notice. - People disappear, including very senior people, who are walked out of the door by security and are never to be seen again. - Consultants and subcontractors are screwed over on most projects because Berkeley is the 'client' in every situation it can be and offsets its own poor management on its suppliers. - Staff aren't supported in their development. Often people find themselves being promoted because a new division has been formed without having the due support and coaching required. - Some senior leaders are terrible managers but are too expensive to pay off so are relocated to other divisions, making their performance another company's issue. - It is extremely difficult for 'full-time' parents to progress in this company because the system rewards people who sacrifice their lives for their jobs. This is unsustainable for 'full-time' parents who end up leaving the company or settling in lower roles that let them pay the bills. - People are micromanaged which results in staff losing the incentive to be proactive and take initiative. - Staff are practically bullied into donating to the company's chosen charities so that the company can benefit from the PR, rather than enabling staff to support charities they are passionate about. - Salary reviews do not involve the staff being reviewed. The staff simply receive a letter around May with any increases. If they’re unhappy, they have to wait until November until their salary is reviewed again. The result of this is that carrots are constantly being dangled with people being strung along for months. - The list goes on...
