Significant salary vs workload mismatch - Anonymous employee Lidl Employee Review

2.0
13 July 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Some people get to travel to europe for training -Free food samples once a week -Good IT equipment -Free german lessons during work hours if you can make a case that you need the language for business

Cons

Salaries don't fit what's expected of employees at all. Outside of the HR department which is like a different world, some directors demand ridiculous work hours from their people. Now don't get me wrong: salaries at lidl US are not the worst. And there are other companies out there that suck the life out of their employees. Think of management consulting or investment banking. But if they do so at least they have to match salaries with expectations. And this is not the case at Lidl. A lot of people work 50 or 60 or at times 70 hours a week. Overtime pay: exactly zero. Gratitude from the company: nonexistent. If you approach management with the fact that someone working 15 hours per week extra earns the same as someone leaving at 5 every day, they just shrug their shoulders and say: Yeah, but we just have more work here. It's pathetic! People get lured in with the promise of endless opportunity even when the starting salary is pretty low. And yes some people get promoted fast. I would put their number at around 10 to 15 percent of new hires. But for the vast majority it's just an illusion, a carrot on a stick you'll never get to, or only after many years. Or they just ship over someone from the parent company to be your boss. And you know what? That's okay, its fine. Just don't promise your people stuff that's not happening to keep wages down. That is not fair and it won't work in the long run.

Explore other reviews about Lidl

5.0
27 Oct 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule and good pay for the work

Cons

Hard labor that involves being fit

3.0
1 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Benefits are excellent, most people at the peer level are great. Clear performance expectations. Decent cross functional communication

Cons

Company leadership very European and doesn't quite understand the American consumer even after being in the US so long. Unreasonable expectations are the norm. No upward mobility unless you are European or speak fluent German.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All