Taking wages unlawfully - laughably incompetent HR team, derisible and unprofessional behaviour
Pros
SilverDoor is bound by employment law. If they weren't who knows what they'd try to get away with. Google 'SilverDoor Tribunals' to see their recent activity in "unlawfully deducting" staff wages.
Cons
A major red flag came when SilverDoor acquired another company (and many more staff) at a time when existing staff pay was especially low, even for SilverDoor (for the drones - those in management were laughing all the way to the bank of course) and requests for pay rises were shirked off. This sort of contradictory thinking only became more prevalent as time went on. Having had enough of pointless 'meetings' with my then manager/head of department around the lack of professional development opportunities and inconsistent/unjustifiably low wages, I found a position within a company offering far better terms as well as a much healthier culture and submitted my resignation. My intention being to politely leave the company that no longer held any appeal whatsoever. This is where things suddenly took a turn. Firstly, my "Manager" began to behave strangely to put it mildly - refusing to acknowledge, talk, or look at me. To this day I'm not sure if this was purely out of spite, a side effect of the menopause, or simply a mental breakdown. It was then brought to my attention that the company wanted to deduct hundreds of pounds from my final wage slip for a work event - described as a reward from the shareholders - which they told me I could no longer attend as I resigned. Based on their own terms, I immediately pointed out this would be an illegal move. Despite my contestation and further meetings with the HR team, the company decided that even though the trip was a gift, paid for by the shareholders, they would force me to pay for flight costs. (All other attendees, including people who hadn't even joined the company yet, weren't charged a single penny.) For a supposedly successful, extremely profitable company, why they needed to charge resigning staff members exorbitant fees in the first place speaks volumes about their ethos. I continued to contest their decision, sending multiple emails over several months with specific questions about their deduction. None were answered by the available roster of supposed HR 'experts', whose unprofessionalism continued to sink to new lows. On the advice of an employment solicitor (and in my capacity to read English and have a fleeting understanding of basic law) I entered the Tribunal conciliation process. Eventually, the company refused the offer of conciliation, needlessly escalating the matter. And so the move to a Tribunal was set. Of course, the company delayed the trial date (stating the presence of the Shareholder was required and therefore, as they could not attend on that date, it needed to be moved). Trial date successfully moved, this added another several months onto the entire fiasco. When the Tribunal eventually took place (even though their 'much needed' witness Shareholder was nowhere in sight) over nine months had passed since my initial contestation of the deduction. The outcome - the company was found to have indeed 'unlawfully deducted' the amount and was ordered to pay the full amount back. For wasting my time, withholding my money, ignoring my repeated attempts to resolve the matter amicably, and otherwise behaving in an utterly disrespectful and unprofessional manner, I say - shame on SilverDoor and all those involved. Of course, no apology has been forthcoming. If you are looking to work for a company with good moral values, a supportive HR department, and one that doesn't unlawfully deduct wages, SilverDoor clearly isn't a good choice. Other cons: Many "Managers" and above have only worked at SilverDoor in their professional life. Experience is therefore very limited (and it shows). Placements were encouraged 'not to shower' during the energy price rise last year. This being despite the fact that placements are made to pay an all inclusive rent fee to stay in the placement house.