Pros
Not many pro's to this job if I'm honest with you. You will meet some nice people who will also agree with you on how terrible the job is and you get frequent breaks. Discount at some food chains/cafes.
Cons
If you want to work in a mature environment, then this isn't the place for you. Folding t-shirts for 8 hours isn't the most exciting thing in the world and it will drag even more when you're not allowed to have a quiet discussion with your co-worker. If management catch you talking they'll give you 3 strikes and then you have to go to head office. A lot of people are employed on a 4-16 hour contract and if you want to increase your contract when they become available they will decline your request and make up an excuse as to why you're not suitable to do more hours. For example, a co-worker was told she wasn't 'confident' enough to have an 8 hour contract however, they are willing to get her in for overtime (even up to 40 hrs a week). Illnesses? Forget that too you have to be super human to work at Primark. They have a policy which states that if you're ill 3 times in 26 weeks you will get put on attendance counselling which is the equivalent to a verbal warning and it will stay on your file for 6 months meaning, you are unable to apply for any other contracts/positions within the company. I was off with a serious illness and was able to provide a doctor’s note as well as my prescription however, they still followed this procedure through anyway. However, I'd like to point out that this rule doesn't apply to everyone. If you're one of the favourites down there then this rule will be ignored. Another thing is holiday. You get a decent amount of holiday however the chances of it getting approved is very unlikely and will have to go through the process of trying to get someone to cover it or take it off unpaid. Progressing in the company is also difficult unless you're a favourite. If you're in education, then I wouldn't bother either. Especially if you're at University/college. They always say education/school work comes first however, this isn't the case. Many people had holiday declined when they needed time off to go to University open days and time off for important University/College trips? Ha, I don't think so. I understand that they're a big company who need their staff but if you're going to employ people 18 and younger this needs to be taken into consideration. The final straw for me was when I went into work Boxing Day (I had no choice as I was weekend staff and you're also contracted to Bank Holidays with no extra pay) and because it was so short staffed management took it out on the workers who went into work that day and spent the whole day storming around moaning about the employees that did actually turn up.. and to top it all off whenever clothes were found in the wrong place they would throw them on the floor and demand that they had to be picked up before anyone could go home. I think the only good reviews given to Primark are probably by the people who are between the ages of 16-18 because if can imagine this is an okay first job as they're working only 4 hour shifts on weekends.
