Pros
Free lunch is good. Having talented colleagues to work alongside. There are some really smart people there.
Cons
Staff are not issued with employment contracts, instead they are referred to their statutory rights. That should set alarm bells ringing. The "unlimited holiday" perk is a myth, as taking time off is only permitted "so long as it doesn't affect the business".. (the implication being "if you can take two weeks off without affecting the business, then why do we need you?") The food + hairdressing services aren't the "perks" they first appear to be. They're actually designed to keep you in the office and not leave the building. Nobody takes lunch breaks longer than the time it takes to eat their food, most finish their lunch and are back working within 15 minutes. Snacks are delivered to your desk mid-morning and mid-afternoon to keep you at your keyboard. That coupled with the regular 8am-7pm working hours makes for a very long tiring day. These problems are compounded by then verbal bullying and shaming of staff in front of their colleagues by senior management happens on a daily basis. The CEO claims he "loves" each and every one of his staff. Sorry, you just don't treat people you "love" and respect that way. For example, there are no written specs, there's just a short discussion between the developer and Senior Management of what is required. The problem is, often the manager misremembers their original conversation and instead expects them to deliver something different from what was discussed, and goes on to publicly berate the developer for not delivering "what was asked for". Too afraid to speak up, colleagues just give each other knowing looks. There are no career opportunities its a flat structure of "the team" the CEO and his assistant. Grandiose staff events to offset this toxic work environment just don't cut it, they seem more of an expression of the owners wealth than something done to please the staff. Even a positive review for this company on this site ends with "at times it can feel like nothing you do is good enough." Says it all.
