Shocking lack of care - Optical Assistant Hakim Group Employee Review

1.0
13 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A light health insurance package Our direct Hakim group store contact was a kind person

Cons

The Hakim group does not care for the employees in the businesses they own. Having worked a fair few jobs in my life, this was by far the most shocking lack of care that I have been subjected to from the higher ups in a company. To Hakim group you are cattle, and an inconvenience to them if dare to be a human being. There is no soul in the fabric of how they run, and 'wellbeing' is just a box to tick for them. They chose to close the business I was working for having taken it over 2 years prior. During that time, they put almost no effort into changing the business model, and only focused on cutting jobs, running the company on bare bones. With a little nurturing and care on their part, I truly feel it would have been a different story. However, businesses do fail, and what angered and hurt me the most, was their handling of the closure of the business. They were embarrassingly disorganized, unable (or unbothered) to provide answers to simple questions about the process, leaving us as front facing members of the company pitifully unsupported, and customers without a basic level of care. They did all within their power to avoid redundancy pay for any of the staff, some long standing and dedicated team members. There was blatant disregard for the human beings caught up in the closure process. The fact that we had lives to keep on living, and financial responsibilities to maintain was not a consideration to them. During the last week of trading, we were left to fend for ourselves completely, with the Hakim group staff responsible for our store on a team building week, playing a game of 'The Traitors'. The uncertainty was painful, causing stress and upset among the team. Everything that's wrong with the corporate and capitalist world are encapsulated by the Hakim group and I would recommend running a mile.

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Hakim Group Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience so openly. We’re very sorry to hear how difficult this period was for you. We recognise that business closures have a real human impact, and it’s clear from your feedback that there were times you felt unsupported. We appreciate you acknowledging those who showed kindness during a challenging time, while also raising important concerns around communication and support. Your feedback is valuable and highlights the need for clearer communication, empathy, and stronger support during periods of change. We would welcome the opportunity to better understand your experience and continue the conversation directly. If you’d be happy to reach out to our People Services Manager Victoria.hart@hakimgroup.co.uk

Explore other reviews about Hakim Group

1.0
24 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

One or two of the higher ups are genuinely good people

Cons

Hakim group simply does not care about you as an employee, take everything they say with a pinch of salt. In my time working for a practice owned by them I'm never saw them follow up on a promise. The higher ups and marketing teams are so unbelievably out of touch, this company is full of corporate people who have fully drunk the koolaid this company is pedalling. They made the decision to close our practice and "merge" our store with another, by making three quarters of the staff redundant with 4 weeks notice and still attempt to wriggle out of giving anyone redundancy pay. They promised more than once to inform our customers about the closure and never did and instead of being in the shop on the last day of trading they were all on a "Hakim Group retreat" playing a game of traitors. Genuinely laughable and out of touch. One of the reasons they gave for closing our store and others was ‘underperformance’ when in actual fact our store had a record month the same month they decided to close us. In tandem with it being Hakim Groups mismanagement that led to stores underperforming, which they then proceeded to blame the employees for in the reasons for closing the stores. Upon becoming employed by hakim group our team was told that there was a bonus system in place if our practice hit a certain target, however upon hitting said target in March 2026 we were told that a bonus policy had never been in place. Leaving employees feeling like they had been working towards false promises that were never going to be followed up on. Upon writing this review I still have not received a written payslip for my final month of working for Hakim Group and am almost certain that this is due to them underpaying the majority of the staff they made redundant.

1
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Hakim Group Response
6d
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We're sorry to read that you left feeling this way. We recognise that practice closures and periods of change can be incredibly difficult, and we appreciate the impact they can have on those affected. We also take concerns around communication, pay, and the overall employee experience seriously. As a growing business, we are continually reviewing how we communicate and support our teams through change, and feedback like yours helps inform those improvements. If there is anything further you'd like to share, we'd welcome the opportunity to listen. Please feel free to contact our HR team at hr@hakimgroup.co.uk.
1.0
1 July 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Private healthcare and no Sundays

Cons

Don't expect any pay reviews. Don't expect grievances against employer to be reviewed without bias. Don't expect fair treatment. Don't expect signed training agreements to be upheld.

1
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