engineer

night watch staff

warehouse supervisor

production operator

maintenance engineer

Dr.-Oetker

Lots of pizzas come on a conveyor line. Different departments deal with them in different ways. The job roles are all different from simple roles to more problem/causality roles. You can literally push pizzas from one line to another whilst checking for any kinds of blockages or you can have a 5 meter by 5 meter machine stop working somehow and you have to quickly try sort the issue. If the issue can't be sorted by yourself then a higher trained mechanic would come and try fix the issue. These people were the serious fixers and available on request. This job can send you to get all types of food certificate qualifications and even FLT licences which include both Reach and Counterbalance. The work place is friendly enough but you'll mainly stick with whatever department you work in as if you go off wandering and something happens it stops the whole pizza process. Pizzas are literally coming down a conveyor belt for 17 hours a day and nothing other than management stops that from happening.

I worked at Dr Oetker as a temp on the line for a couple of months after I finished my PhD. The staff are extremely cliquey. The permanent staff do not give you the time of day. When the line was stopped just before they send the next batch down, the staff turn their backs on you and chat away. When you try to have any kind of conversation with them they barely even look at you and give one or two word answers. 

In my entire 2 months I must have had the equivalent of 5 minutes worth of conversations with people I saw everyday. When I started, the manager showed me how to straighten the pizzas as they come down the line then I never saw or spoke to him again. 

You are stood for 4 hours at a time doing extremely monotonous work at great pace. You get 30 minutes break 15 of which is wasted getting out of the factory and back again so in reality you get around 15 minutes to eat something and sit down.

Needs new senior management, short term focussed on getting pizzas out the door at any cost, they just don't care about the workforce.
Junior management are run ragged, Engineering frustrated that they cant spend money and work on equipment properly so reliability is terrible.
Culture is to keep your mouth shut and get on with the job, very much a "do as I say" place. Opinions and feedback are not welcome.
Site not investing in the right places, need to start on the basics not flashy pieces of kit which don't work and are dangerous.
Spending a fortune on external consultants, not focussing on the right things.
Start to communicate with the workforce, trust people and they will start to get results.
HR are in the pocket of management, cant trust them to do the right thing at all.
Overall, give this place a wide berth, don't waste your time here.


Until you’ve proven yourself to be worth employing over a period of months, management have a dim view of anyone new to the business.
It’s not a nice place to work in general due to the cliques of staff that just do not care for new faces. You’re either new agency staff so they think you’ll last 2-3 days n be gone, or you’re new full time staff and they don’t like you because you aren’t part of their gang.
Good bloody luck to anyone starting work there!
I honestly feel sorry for you. Between managers with a power-trip seniority complex, and gangs of staff that just hate new faces! I’m amazed the business is still open!

Very badly run, full of back stabbers, managers and team leaders are always in a bad mood, get shouted at if you ask a question, you could be in a nice warm part of the factory then get moved to a cold part, management spend all the time in the office watching everyone on CCTV not allowed to smoke in your own car even if you are on the public road outside the factory, they expect you to work 2 or more peoples jobs, they promise training to level you up the pay grades then they add more and more requirements to get to that pay grade so never expect getting higher than level 1, have to wear hand me down PPE, the wetsuits don’t keep you dry

I’ve been employed by Dr Oetker for 6 years, in the last 12 months there been some great changes on how we are managed and focus on new starters. I am told that the inductions are more detailed, although though I’ve personally not had any issues, management are definitely working on there interaction skills.. we get bonuses for things like long service and employee referrals..the job can be pressured which I don’t mind. this is due to having to meet cleaning deadlines. Pay isn’t the best but there are loads of opportunities for it to increase with training. My colleagues and nights management are supportive. Overall for me I believe Dr Oetker is a good place to work.

Unless you are absolutely desperate, don’t do it. The hours are so long and you’re on your feet for 12 hours a day / night. They don’t care if you’re sick, they just want you in work. Management are completely useless and don’t care, if you’re lucky you might have 2 colleagues that care. The work is exhausting, more than you’d expect, everyone there has a bad back regardless of age. And they’re all miserable. Awful working conditions, it’s either 100 degrees or -100 degrees. No in between. It’s also really dirty and unhygienic despite the fact it’s food! I don’t eat anything made there now I’ve seen where it’s made. It’s fun for the first few weeks and then it’s just gets old. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The company looks after their staff with many perks.

The company invests in their staff's health and wellbeing.

Subsequently, the staff are generally happy with many having a high number of years service. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Workload combined with the desire and pride to do a good job.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The offices have great facilities and staff are a pleasure to work with. 

Dr Oetker remains a family business and they care for their staff as family members.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I like the people and the management as they interact with the people on the shoo floor right up to senior level, also they look after thier workforce one team one dream

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
We don't really have anything to get too stressed about

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is a great place to work and I would encourage people to work there

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Looking after a team in the workplace and overseeing the production whilst on shift

-Decent pay.
-Friendly, supportive staff
-Low opportunity for progression.
-Outdated equipment and practices.
-The factory requires a large overhaul.
-No useful training provided.
-High turnover of staff in each department, with most employees having issues.
-Equipment and management need to improve
-Most work involves chasing inherent factory issues, usually bandaged up as opposed to being reworked/replaced.
-A good way to earn an average engineering salary with double days shifts with mandatory weekend work.
-It was a common opinion that this site felt completely segregated from the parent company.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Engineer 1 salary reported	£27,000 per year
Night watch staff 6 salaries reported	£13.16 per hour
Warehouse supervisor 3 salaries reported	£17.32 per hour
Production operator 1 salary reported	£13.27 per hour
Maintenance engineer 1 salary reported	£27.53 per hour

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