No lunch break. No overtime pay. 45 hour week with expected overtime. WWYD

[Goandplay]

Interviewed for a job paying 10k over the going rate. Negotiated another 5k.

From what I was told on the interview the current team rarely take their annual leave entitlement and work late most nights, with senior members working till 10pm sometimes. Senior members also work most weekends and never take two days off at the weekend.

I was told there was no lunch break but can eat and drink at desk.

The role will stretch me professionally which would be good, giving me experience and a step up.

The office didn’t feel friendly and I was told there is not much chatting on the interview when I asked if I could meet the person I would be working with - which I thought was a strange remark.

Is the additional pay worth the conditions.

If you didn't have DCs that presumably you'd like to see occasionally and have family holidays with, it might be worth a punt as a stepping stone, but given that you do I'd give it a hard pass.

TBH I'd give it a hard pass whatever your personal circumstances. I worked for a US owned company somewhat like that in my 20s - but at least there was a good social life attached to the long working hours.

No way would I be working through my lunch break and all evening for £40-50k (and I say that as somebody who earns well below that!)

Maybe if it was £200k and I could employ a cleaner, nanny and personal chef to make up for the lost time!

You have 2 primary school age children. That's your answer, if you can't take your holidays or full weekends, the extra money wouldn't be worth not seeing them. They don't seem like they value a work/life balance. Presumably people leave because they burn out. It honestly sounds like a miserable existence.

That would be a no from me

Is this role a means to an end? Would you be able to move on in say 18-24 months to bigger and better things super charging your career from this that you would not be able to get without it? If so it may be worthwhile to take the long view.

Sounds like Big 4, only they normally maintain the sales pitch pretence that it's not a toxic place to work at interview.

£15k isn't worth those conditions. But if you think you can hack it for a year or two then use it to leap somewhere better, you might decide it is.

I would take my annual leave.

There’s no amount of money that would make me work there.
whatever you do there will not be good enough in their eyes and they’d destroy you

I don’t think it will supercharge my career. It will just allow me to gain experience in my profession that I don’t currently have.

They don't value their employees.

So I'd not touch them with a bargpole.

Definitely not one of the Big 4 - it won’t give me a company on my cv that will impress anyone.

If they are this upfront about their piss poor management and workload balance at the interview stage, imagine how bad the shit they don't tell you is.

It will make you miserable. More than likely they are being so honest with you now because the last person ‘couldn’t hack it’ and left and they don’t want that to happen again. But it will.

How does being fired for taking your leave or going off sick with exhaustion because they don't believe you should be so lazy as to have 20mins to eat appeal? They can do that at any time in the first two years and will just say it didn't work out.

This is exactly my thoughts.

No way, it's s not worth it. They want too much. You'll end up deeply unhappy and burned out.

Illegal work practices and a toxic environment. This is why they're offering above standard for the role.

If it could be a useful and productive stepping stone (like the fabled PA job in Devil wears Prada) it might be worth the hit short term...but otherwise I'd swerve and trade a decent work environment for reasonable pay.

As skint as I am, money is not worth my sanity or ability to function as a wife and mother.

Equates to £20 per hour, without expecting double time for not taking leave. Doesn’t sound good value for money.

Only a mug would do a job like that. This isn't the Victorian era.

Wow, do you think they're telling you how shit it is thinking that that will prevent people leaving because they'll be going in with their eyes open? Because they're really not selling it are they? Tell them your soul isn't for sale.

ABSOLUTELY NOT! The red flags are so big they can see them from mars. OP of you are prepared to mentally screw yourself in the most toxic workplace for £15k then take it but having "been there done that" I can tell you right now no amount of money is worth your health and it will make you sick.

And whilst o don't recommend you take it, if you can't be convinced you need to ask for ALOT more money than that. They want your soul, they need to pay for it. They probably know this hence why they offer over asking and met your nego request - probably with no hesitation.

Imagine no talking, no lunch break, no social life because you must work all hours. They won't even let you meet your co workers. RUN!

Sounds dreadful.

I used to have a job like that (which was big 4) for pay like that (pre qualification). I left on the first day I was qualified to and improved my pay and my life immeasurably. My current job is still sometimes long hours, and still sometimes stressful, but nobody thinks you should be working weekends, you get a chunk of it back in TOIL after busy periods and you definitely get to take your holiday. Don't do it unless you're absolutely brassic - it's not worth giving up your life for work.

All sounds highly illegal
I wouldn't want to work there with those T&Cs

With what you’ve said, no it’s not worth it

I’ve just come off 2 years of similar (long days, no breaks, often doing catch up at weekend) BUT it was during Covid/Lockdown so I wasn’t missing much, plus a ‘name’ company and a step up so I can leverage that for my future career

I don’t think this is giving you enough vs what you want - do you think you can get similar (eg a 10k rise) for a job that’s more what you like?

What is the staff turnover like? I bet it's high.