production associate

engineer

hygiene manager

electrical engineer

engineering manager

David-Wood-Foods

From a senior management perspective, the organisation demonstrated a reactive and commercially driven culture where financial performance and production output consistently took priority over employee wellbeing, compliance, and long-term operational standards. Health and safety was often treated as a box-ticking exercise rather than a core business responsibility, with concerns frequently dismissed, delayed, or ignored entirely until issues escalated.

There was a clear lack of accountability across management teams, with policies and procedures inconsistently enforced and regularly disregarded by both employees and senior leadership. This created a culture where poor behaviours became normalised, standards slipped, and individuals who attempted to uphold compliance or challenge unsafe practices were often undermined rather than supported.

Communication throughout the business was poor, with limited transparency from leadership and little meaningful engagement with staff. Professional opinions, operational concerns, and improvement initiatives were rarely listened to, resulting in low morale and a working environment where employees felt undervalued and replaceable. Constructive feedback was not encouraged, and there appeared to be resistance toward change, innovation, and continuous improvement.

The organisation also suffered from visible favouritism and inconsistent decision-making, particularly regarding workload distribution, recognition, and career progression opportunities. Advancement was often influenced more by relationships and internal politics than capability or performance, which negatively impacted motivation and retention.

In addition, there was a strong micromanagement culture combined with a reluctance to empower experienced staff to implement their own ideas or improvements. Despite expectations to deliver results and take ownership, there was limited authority to influence change or improve systems effectively. Overall, the environment lacked strategic leadership, professional development opportunities, and a positive workplace culture aligned with modern management standards.

I was excited to be joining the company as i have known there work for years. Once onboard your left to get on with it with no support from area manager who just reduces you to useless. Within 3 months covid started and some of the 220 on site staff went sick making the targets unrealistic and office duties was thrown upon me with no training.
Then i was put on furlough for 14 wks with redundancy at the end. As a senior manager i had zero communication from my bosses and i even asked twice should i be looking for a new job and was told no. Then i got a letter stating i had one weeks notice, made me feel   totally worthless to be honest. Poorly treated as a senior level manager.
A professional company should buddy you up or send you to another site to shadow someone in a similar role.
My self as a production manager and my site manager joined the same time in January and was made redundant the same time, The senior managers did not give us time to get the site into profit as during our time there Covid 19 was about.

The job is good if you come from a production background, if not it might be a shock. Long hours, repetitive work and handling hot trays from hovens. The management team are good and keep the work place busy, but sometimes you can be left alone with nothing to do while the product is being changed, often this time is spent cleaning the factory floor. Two shifts cover different teams with different managers and there are 3, 20 minute breaks at random times. The most enjoyable part of the job is going home.

The hours are 6 till 6 so don't bother enjoying a movie or hobbies after work, and days off might be during night, so you're stuck with nothing to do all night, if others are sleeping this might be a problem.

The hardest part of the job is Exit Hoven and Picking, if your not quick enough on these jobs you can lose the products at the end of the conveyer belts and its your job to not let these items fall on the floor.

All and all its alright if your used to Production, weekly pay is makes the weekend to look forward too and if you are sociable the work day is less of a hassle.

Absolutely shocking. Pay is nowhere near in line with work. Supervisors and management have favourites, which always get offered overtime first. Don't expect to ever get a promotion, unless you are a relative or good friend with a department manager. Good luck actually finding one machine, or piece of equipment in the entire factory that isn't broken or repaired on the cheap. Yet they spend money left, right and center for the office staff upstairs. Recently built a new office space and NPD kitchen. Yet the factory workers get nothing. If we suggest a better way of working, or an idea, management do not want to know. Most new starters quit the same day or within the first week. However if you want to feel worthless, this is an excellent company. Don't expect to be treated like a person, where office staff are concerned and higher management. 

worst place to work, language barriers, mean managers and more!

i was thrown into production (thats okay, i learn quick) but no one spoke english apart from 1 of the managers. When i was asking what i needed to do, i was just told to go over to a specific machine .. no actual instruction or guidance. Everyone there spoke polish.. i was being laughed at by other employees and they made it abundantly clear they was talking about me and laughing (no language barrier was needed for these actions) .. i was being shouted at by management because i kept leaving my post (because i was constantly looking for someone who spoke english to actually tell me what i needed to do)  It was just an absolute nightmare! physically knocked me sick with stress.. and it looked like an easy job in general. but it wasnt for me, i dont think my face fitted.

My line manager, was one of if not the best manager I had. Constantly throwing work to me, forever allowing me to go off and learn something new within the business. Gave constant feedback to how well I was doing in my role, even though he had no clue what to do with me at most points. Bringing me out of my shell, throwing me in the deep end but was there on hand to rescue me if needed or guide me. 

The company as a whole however, is a different story. It was an eye opener for me, completely different from the corporate world I came from. 

Plans could change at the drop of a hat, which requires a certain level of flexibility and preparedness that you won’t know you’ve got until you’re forced to use it. You can truly make your role whatever you want to be within the company, and it is family owned and run always has been, always will be. 

Awful, toxic environment, ran by awful toxic people who thrive on life’s negativities.
No organisation or structure.
Left a professional role to go there as I was asked for months by them and given loads of promises that turned out to be empty ones. 
Inept management who treat employees like their own personal toys in a toy box. 
Did everything that was asked of me but still had to look over my shoulder every single day resulting in stress and anxiety. 
Pulled from pillar to post and hours changes regularly. 
Was once tasked to improve the poor factory workers working conditions and came up with lots of ideas, started to put foam mats down for their feet as they are stood there 12 hours a day only to be told this wasn’t important anymore and was to be scrapped. 
Please avoid even if you’re desperate.  

Fast paced environment, staff are always approachable and ready to listen if you need anything, never had any problems. Nice atmosphere, it can get really really busy and stressful at times if a machines breaks down or something comes up but everyone gets involved and gets the issue sorted as soon as they can. Always gives lots of breaks as being on your feet for 12 hours a day can be hard at the beginning but you get to move around, been trained and moving around different areas of the plant. If you want to progress you need to work hard to prove you can do it. Always opportunity to progress if you want it. They have reps you can talk to about any issues which is great. Easy money for the job. I work work a Nice bunch of people 

Title: Unsafe Work Environment and Poor Standards

I had a disappointing experience with David Wood Foods. The most concerning issue was the lack of a safe working environment. From my time there, it was clear that the company did not prioritize employee safety, which led to constant stress and discomfort.

Basic safety protocols were either ignored or poorly enforced, putting both employees and the work itself at risk. The management seemed indifferent to the concerns raised, which made it even harder to address these issues.

While there may be areas the company is doing well in, the unsafe conditions seriously overshadowed any positives for me. I hope the company will make necessary changes to improve safety and overall employee well-being.


One day at work is very stressful,  the company is always short of staff (at least this is what they telling us) and we have to work faster and under pressure. The machines are not safe.  Workplace is full with hazards.  Communication is hard because most of the team leaders don't speak English. There is not possible to learn a lot because no one is competent enough to teach or explain to the new starters.  That is the reason why I left the company.  Complaints are not working at all ,after my complaints I started to be a target to get myself decision to leave by myself. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Production associate 1 salary reported	£12.27 per hour
Engineer 1 salary reported	£17.00 per hour
Hygiene manager 2 salaries reported	£38,116 per year
Electrical engineer 2 salaries reported	£20.50 per hour
Engineering manager 2 salaries reported	£54,500 per year

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