We’ve surveyed 50,000 people in the UK about their frontline jobs to find the best and worst places to work in 2021.
You might have seen other lists of the best and worst companies. Ours is different:
It’s based on what people working on the frontline really experience. Not their bosses in head office. Everyone who contributes is either paid by the hour or works shifts.
It's objective. We don’t ask people to rate their job like a movie or a kettle purchase. We ask useful questions like ‘how much notice do you get of your shifts?’ and ‘does your manager treat you with respect?’. From this we produce the Breakroom Rating: a score that you can trust.
So, if you’re a shop worker, a paint sprayer, a care assistant, or anyone on their feet all day, this list is for you.
(Interested in what else we learnt from surveying 50,000 people about their jobs? Check out the State of Hourly Work to discover why only 23% of frontline workers think head office understands what's happening on the ground.)
Top 10 places to work
1. Great Western Railway: 9.2/10
“Best thing: Great team, good shifts, lots of time off, good money, no stress.” – Technician, August 2020
Find out more about working at Great Western Railway.
2. Northern Rail: 9.0/10
“Best thing: Travelling around the NW of England, meeting new people.” – Conductor, October 2020
Find out more about working at Northern Rail.
3. Rolls-Royce: 8.3/10
“Best thing: Money, and how relaxed it is.” — Quality inspector, October 2020
Find out more about working at Rolls-Royce.
4. The Fire Service: 8.3/10
“Best thing: Different everyday. Good people. Helping others. Shift pattern.” — Watch commander, October 2020
Find out more about working at the Fire Service.
5. Network Rail: 8.2/10
“Best thing: Great salary. Good roster. Lots of times off. Good sick pay policy. Good management.” — Signaller, November 2020
Find out more about working at Network Rail.
6. Sky: 8.1/10
“Best thing: Having a supportive team. Helping customers. Job perks and bonus.” — Customer advisor, November 2020
Find out more about working at Sky.
7. Openreach: 8.1/10
“Best thing: easy. good money. nice to be outside. fun. good exercise. funny sometimes” — Engineer, December 2020
Find out more about working at Openreach.
8. IKEA: 8.0/10
“Best thing: having responsibility, being able to take chances” — Sales co-worker, May 2020
Find out more about working at IKEA.
9. EE: 7.8/10
“Best thing: Good wages, great people on my team” — Mobile care agent, October 2020
Find out more about working at EE.
10. Toyota: 7.8/10
“Best thing: Regular work, shifts are on a set rota and rarely change, pay is good, Shift premium is paid on top of basic pay, company cares about employees health and well-being, safety is a very high priority” — Team member, November 2020
Find out more about working at Toyota.
Bottom 10 places to work
1. Betfred: 4.7/10
“Worst thing: The long hours, unpredictability, a lot of times you’re working overtime due to staff shortages.” — Deputy sales manager, November 2020
Find out more about working at Betfred.
2. Frankie & Benny’s: 4.7/10
“Worst thing: Long hours and not finishing on time due to staffing levels and labour restrictions” — Kitchen manager, January 2020
Find out more about working at Frankie & Benny’s.
3. McColls: 4.7/10
“Worst thing: Head office and upper management don't take into consideration what is going on in individual stores” — Supervisor, November 2020
Find out more about working at McColls.
4. Hermes: 4.8/10
“Worst thing: wages, only told 1 day in advance what I'm working the next day” — HGV 1 driver, April 2020
Find out more about working at Hermes.
5. Whitbread: 4.8/10
“Worst thing: Too busy, not enough staff to deal with work load. Management cutting corners to reduce expenses.” — Head chef, August 2020
Find out more about working at Whitbread.
6. Pizza Express: 4.9/10
“Worst thing: Company only cares about figures and not staff or customers.” — Waiter, December 2019
Find out more about working at Pizza Express.
7. The Range: 5.0/10
“Worst thing: The place is atrocious. Smelly. Lights hardly work. Rats infestation. Don’t get the paid breaks but they make us take the unpaid breaks” — Retail assistant, March 2020
Find out more about working at The Range.
8. Burger King: 5.0/10
“Worst thing: I feel unsafe and threatened in my own work place and nothing is ever done about it.” — Shift manager, March 2020
Find out more about working at Burger King.
9. HC One: 5.1/10
“Worst thing: Staff shortages, can be the only nurse for 40 resident” — Unit manager, October 2020
Find out more about working at HC One.
10. Voyage Care: 5.2/10
“Worst thing: Voyage policy’s changing very often. Lack of communication between staff and management.” — Support worker, September 2020
Find out more about working at Voyage Care.
All ratings are accurate as of 8th December 2020. Some ratings may have changed since publication.
Published on 16 December 2020