Workplace culture - Cta Medicines Evaluation Unit Employee Review

29 days of annual leave is very generous, especially for early-career roles. The year-end bonus can be decent — but it’s based purely on how long you’ve stuck it out, not how well you’ve performed. It only becomes worthwhile after 3+ years. Free parking and Westfield healthcare are nice perks — although you’ll definitely hear management talk about the parking like it’s some divine gift bestowed upon the chosen. The people (excluding most of the management/line managers) are genuinely great. If you're just out of uni or college, the team is mostly young, friendly, and easy to get along with. You'll probably make a few lifelong mates — just don’t get too comfy, as most people leave after 2–3 years.

💰 Pay & Benefits The base salary is low for the industry. Management will try to convince you it's great — but only because they’re counting the bonus, which is variable and can be docked at will. Get sick? You’re punished financially. You docked statutory sick pay (currently £23.75/day less), Go over 5 sick days in a year and you’ll also lose 20% of your bonus per extra sick day. Pension is the legal minimum (5% employee, 3% employer). Nothing to write home about. 📉 Lack of Structure No clear pay banding. You and the person next to you might be doing the same job but earning wildly different amounts. HR and management discourage pay discussions — wonder why. Promotions are more about loyalty than performance. In some teams, it’s basically “you’ve been here long enough, so here’s a title change.” 🏠 Work-Life Balance WFH is frowned upon, unless you’re in a lucky department. For everyone else, expect side-eyes and snide comments if you even suggest it. Burnout is real and ignored. Raise it, and you’ll likely just be told to “push through” — or handed more work. 🧠 Culture & Management Toxic behaviours are tolerated, and certain individuals are somehow untouchable — you'll probably learn their names before you even get your login details. Each department operates like its own little kingdom, with no consistency, no cohesion, and no one in management doing anything to bridge the divide. Gossip, cliques, and finger-pointing are very much alive. It’s like working in a real-life episode of The Office, but without the fun. I was told by my line manager not to bother going to HR because “they don’t do anything” — and instead to take issues straight to the CEO. Which, to be honest, says it all. 🧀 Perks (If You Can Call Them That) Tea and coffee are free, and management are weirdly proud of this. You’ll even hear it listed as a key benefit. Milk is strictly rationed — officially for tea and coffee only. Try using it for cereal and prepare to be interrogated. No other meaningful perks, aside from the decent Westfield healthcare, which is probably the one thing they should shout about.

Most staff pleasant to work with. Bonus linked to company performance.

Failure of higher management to address poorly trained/untrained middle management. Failure to grow their staff.