Does Chester Zoo pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Chester Zoo employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Chester Zoo. This rating has decreased by 15% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Chester Zoo?

63% of Chester Zoo employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Chester Zoo 3.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Chester Zoo?

Food and Beverage Assistant (16) , Catering Assistant (7) , Retail Assistant (5) , Retail Artist (3) , Guest Experience (2) , Guest Experience Assistant (2) , Zoo Keeper (2)

What are the pros of working at Chester Zoo according to real employee reviews?

"Pay is good" ((in 8 reviews)); "Friendly Staff and Customers" ((in 6 reviews)); "Really friendly team, great palce to work" ((in 6 reviews)); "great place to work, nice people" ((in 5 reviews)); "Free tickets when leave" ((in 4 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Chester Zoo according to real employee reviews?

"sometimes hours are long, which can impact on social/ family life" ((in 5 reviews)); "Mandatory break in contract to avoid offering offering full time contracts added to new induction period meant they broke contract once pandemic hit to avoid extra costs to staff on furlough." ((in 4 reviews)); "Long days during the summer, customers will be rude about not seeing a certain animal, the usual." ((in 4 reviews)); "•Communication between different departments and managers can make the job more difficult than it needs to be" ((in 3 reviews))

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo Reviews

3.5

63% would recommend to a friend

(71 total reviews)

Jamie Christon

86% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

Chester Zoo has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 71 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Chester Zoo employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Arts, entertainment and recreation industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

71 reviews

1.0

16 Jan 2024

Money-centric - no commitment to staff

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

There are some animals there

Cons

Poor pay No commitment to staff Highly money-centric, Little to no development opportunities The zoo is ran by over-paid office based staff who have little to no idea what is actually happening within the zoo itself

1.0

3 Aug 2025

I’ve worked at the zoo. I’ve had cancer. Cancer was better.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

There are captive animals to look at

Cons

Poor management, no progression, toxic workplace laden with bullies.

1.0

26 Dec 2023

Not worth it

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

You eventually get free tickets after months of work.

Cons

Mismanaged, burnout, staff not valued, low pay for high expectations and labour

Viewing 1 - 3 of 71 Reviews

Jobs at Chester Zoo

Food & Beverage Assistant

Food & Beverage Assistant - Events

Food & Beverage Assistant