Matalan > Reviews (4)

Matalan are a unique out of town retailing concept. They sell quality fashion and home wares at exceptional value and up to 50% cheaper than their competitors. One of the fastest growing retailers in the Uk, Matalan employs over 10,000 people. I am sure that there are plenty of people who have experienced shopping (and queuing) in a Matalan store, but just what is it like to be one of the humble 10,000?
Well, as an employee, I will attempt to fill you in on all the gory details….

Matalan employ a wide selection of people who are able to fit into a quite flexible set of working shifts. Often each store will run on only a few full time staff and a lot of part timers. For these part time staff shifts usually last just four hours. Matalan employ several students during evening, weekend and holiday periods, while during the normal working day staff tend to be a little older and are often made up of mothers with children are at school.

Pay is not good at Matalan. At present students earn £4.19 per hour and staff over 19 years old earn £5.05 per hour. You can earn more as a superior member of staff but there are only a few of these positions within each store. With the exception of full time staff, people are taken on with a contract for only a few hours (say eight) and although they can usually pick up a lot more hours each week, when it comes to holiday and such like, their entitlements are a lot less.

A job perk is the staff discount which is available after just three months of employment. The staff membership card that you will receive will entitle you to 10% discount from purchases made at Matalan stores. Some sale items may be excluded from further discount though. Occasionally Matalan hold double discount days, where staff can have 20% deducted from any goods bought.

Holiday is on a pro rata basis according to hours CONTRACTED to work. If that contract is for eight hours, then you are paid for 32 hours holiday pay. This does rise though each year that you are with the company. You are also not permitted to take holiday at busy times during the retail year, you must give a months notice of any holiday which you intend on having and this must be authorised by a manager. You will lose any holiday that is not taken by the end of the year (March 31).

Sickness, as with most companies these days, is frowned upon. You are not paid for the first three 'waiting' days` and then will only receive a proportion of your pay. If you are unable to work due to sickness then you will need to phone in in person and explain why and in my experience you will not receive a very sympathetic response. Records of absences are recorded and if a pattern seems to emerge you will be asked to attend an interview to discuss any possible problems.

Jobs are advertised within the store and if you are interested in applying you will need to collect an application form. Next, if all is well, you will be asked to come in for an interview, which is more like an informal chat with the store manager.

You should receive a phone call within a few days if you are successful asking you to attend an induction evening. The one I went to lasted about two hours, We were shown around the store (there were three of us). We were briefly made aware of Fire and safety issues, given a rough guide as to what our job might entail and more importantly had our bank details taken. Before we left the Manager gave us a list of hours which we would be working during the next week.

At Matalan you do not always have fixed hours that you work, although, if your availability is limited, you probably will end up doing more or less the same. Rota's are put up in the staff room a few weeks in advance (sometimes only one week!) and you need to check your hours and remember them. I usually work the same three evenings and a weekend morning but could ask for more or less if required. My contract is for 12 hours but I always work 16, although they don't HAVE to give me the extra four. At Christmas you can easily take on more hours, but these will be cut down afterwards. Students have the opportunity to work during their holidays and Matalan even take back some staff when they return fromUniversity.

A uniform has to be worn at Matalan, this consists of black trousers (either your own or the ones supplied) or a black skirt which can only be worn alongside tights, a black polo shirt or a red blouse and a black and red zip through fleece. You will also be given your own name badge to wear. Shoes should be clean and presentable and trainers are not allowed.

Working within a Matalan store can be hectic, but is never really taxing. Store Assistants are responsible for operating the tills, reception, replenishment of stock, fitting room and tidying. The manager we have recognises which area's her staff are good at and then places them accordingly. Although if you are working during busy times, you are likely to be constantly called to the checkouts. 'All available staff to till', I'm sure that you have heard it. On Saturday's I spend most of my shift on tills but during the weekday evenings I tidy, four hours of tidying. Have you ever seen the state of the store towards the end of the day? … It is appalling! That's what the nice customers do. Matalan works on a skeleton number of staff and therefore it is hard work. Just one Assistant will tidy a department on their own, after they have been on the tills and while they are constantly being called back to the tills. Then there is recovery (this is putting back all the items that the customers have returned or the items which the customer has tried on). A four hour shift means four hours on your feet working, no break, no drink, no chatting.

Customers … Yes, you lot! While each assistant is going about their already busy work, they have to deal with the customers. Now, most of you are quite nice actually, messy, but nice. We do however, on a fairly regular basis, have to deal with some not so nice customers. One's that seem to have nothing better to do and no where better to go.

And boy, do we feel the brunt. The worst that I have come across are those that look down at the assistants and treat them with no respect whatsoever, what they don't realise, is that a lot of the younger staff are actually training for a career far better than they will ever have. Doctors, teachers, vets, all in the making. One girl I know, spends all week working as a qualified Nursery Nurse, and quite a few evenings at Matalan. She does this because her and her boyfriend are saving up to get married and buy a house.

So next time a customer feels that a Store Assistant is beneath them .. Think again.

A typical evening shift for me goes like this.
I arrive at work about ten minutes early, I hate being late or even just on time, I like to be early. Once upstairs I lock away my bag and anything else on me into my locker. You should be given one of these when you start at Matalan. Next I check the shift rota which is pinned up in the staff room. Hours can change so this is a must. A minute or so before my shift is due to begin, I head for Reception on the shop floor, rules stipulate that staff should be on the shop floor and ready to work when their shift begins, not just coming through the main doors with coat and bag etc. At Reception there will be a deployment rota which tells me what I am doing tonight. It could say tills for the first hour, then recovery and then tidying Ladies, it can change nightly depending on who else is in and which manager is on duty. Tonight I am just on Ladies tidying. This means grabbing a trolley and starting at one end of the department and working my way right through to the other end. I need to pick up clothes off the floor, throw anything in the trolley which is not on it's right place, and generally tidy and size order the clothes. The store remains open for the first three hours of my tidying and therefore is getting messed up again at the same time. This can be very frustrating. I will also have to deal with any customer enquiries efficiently and politely and may get called to tills too if things get busy. If I get my department finished and my trolley of clothes and rubbish sorted out, I will be given another job helping someone else. By the end of my shift I am usually very thirsty and eager to get home. Tomorrow I will do the same I expect.

Furthering your career is possible at Matalan. They operate a star training scheme, where you learn more about the running of a retail store. You can if qualified become a Manager of department or a Store deputy or Manager. In my experience there are not many who choose to do this, but then each store only has three or four senior positions. I think that Managers work in such a 'hands on' environment that their hard work and responsibility out ways the benefits.

Do I recommend taking a job at Matalan? It depends really. If you are a student, then yes definitely. You will enjoy the social side of things while you are earning some money. You will be expected to work quite hard, but won't be treated like a 'skivy' and will work alongside and do the same jobs as your older colleagues.

Managers do sometimes have to act a bit like parents or teachers with the young ones. For older people, if you are happy to work with the general public and as part of a team then this job could be ok for you. It can be a bit repetitive and even though you will be working hard you will only receive the minimum wage. It suits me at the moment because it fits into my family and it's just around the corner, but it is not what I would want to do forever.

For further information please visit
www.matalan.co.uk

Thanks for reading. xx