customer service representative

driver

private first class

training manager

host/hostess

East-Midlands-Railway

Staff are amazing, everyone is so friendly and one big family.  Management are often under experienced for the department they are in charge of and offer little knowledge. Same sort of people fly up the ranks in terms of promotion and some of the most hardworking people don’t seem to get any acknowledged. They do award ceremonies and the same people never get any recognition - mainly frontline workers as usual. The management seems to get the most recognition. They make up jobs for certain characters and slot them in whilst other staff have to jump through hoops at talent days. If ur face doesn’t fit or you have ever challenged a manager you will get nowhere in terms of promotion. They make it hardwork trying to transition to a different department and people don’t want to put themselves up for being judged at talent days. 
Great perks with the staff travel and holidays, pension etc. decent money. Workload is full on and a lot of abuse from customers to endure. Shocking break times get less than half an hour all day on a long shift. To be honest if ur in the offices u are treated a lot better than the staff who work tirelessly on the frontline at the station taking all the heat all the time. Moral is at an all time low  and a lot of the feedback I hear is negative towards poor management time and time again.  I see all the hardwork and graft coming from the frontline staff and they get zero recognition for it.  They all look tired and fed up but are trapped due to the high wages. 


Frontline station teams dispatch trains, staff ticket barriers, do cleaning and give out travel information. At Derby your part of a team, with dispatch staff, ticket barriers staff, cleaners and ticket office staff. At small stations ( e.g. Beeston, Long Eaton, Burton) you work alone and carry out all these duties.

The perks and pay are very good. It's a 24/7 operation so you work days and nights everyday except Christmas day. 

The hours can be long and physically tiring, especially in winter with gritting and snow clearing. Management recognition is rare for frontline staff. There is a risk of violence and abuse from the public, and this has significantly increased over the last five years, with more security being bought in, but when your alone and just have to lock yourself in an office and wait for the police.

Nepotism is still an issue, with some attempts to tackle it, but little success, resulting in a lot of family members working together. 

Treatment of front line staff is often poor, with management having a very 'them and us' approach, and quickly blaming front line colleagues when things go wrong, but not learning any lessons or taking any feedback on board. 

The railway is a great place to work. If you can follow rules and procedures and have a skill for dealing with often volatile to vulnerable people. It’s great. You’ll meet some wonderful people. Both colleagues and customers. Have surreal experiences and some great laughs with amazing people. 

The downside is the frankly weird HR dept. It’s made up of frothy, very pretty people. But when you email them to ask questions about your contract or conditions, nine times out of ten. They have to go away and ask for advice. This would be ok if they were office temps. But these people have job titles like HR Business partner and hefty salaries to match. 

It’s really a case of see how you get on and keep your head down. A colleague of mine who did call bad practice out spent years trying for advancement. Despite EMR’s blind process for recruitment he was always ignored, literally for years. So he eventually left and is now about to qualify as a train driver at another company. Make of that what you will. 


A typical day at work is a relentless, exhausting grind due to understaffing and dealing with constant station disorder. What I learned is that management operates with an active indifference towards staff welfare. Workplace culture is one of continuous micromanagement and scrutiny. 

The hardest part of the job is battling chronic fatigue from the horrible shift patterns  and the sheer futility of maintaining safety while lacking support. The most enjoyable part of the job is the moment I physically leave the premises.   

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good bunch of people to work with. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There are not many opportunities available to those who can not perform safety critical tasks. Your career progression is equal to no progression which can make you feel trapped in one role for longer than you needed to be there 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Good mixture of staff from different backgrounds but the management support you get is what they think is best for you and not what you think is best for you 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Generally very pleasant and interacting with people who use the trains and people while have travelled from abroad. But sometimes during disruptions you feel very helpless

My role with EMR was a fantastic role, I genuinely enjoyed what I was doing, It was everything else that was wrong or went wrong.
My recent position within EMR left me feeling worthless and meaningless. My line manager micro managed  me on every granular detail which also made me feel uneasy and not competent in my role. 
The training I received from my co-workers was nothing short of below par. All of my co-workers were of the same opinion of the manager in charge of the department, but afraid to speak up.
To this day, I will never know if the toxic culture was departmental or a much wider effect. 
What I learnt about this role is not to work in the Revenue Protection department. 

There is no work life balance with shift work it effects your sleep /energy / social life  as majority of the shifts are such long days ,of ten hours can get very tiring you do get two days off   ,you  can get aggressive passenger to deal with , and drunk football fans ect or on the plus side we  can meet famous people some days and generally some lovely passengers  to it can be very fast paced some days,   the people who you work with,  that what makes the job really are a great bunch of people and we all help each other out . Benefits we get free travel and friends and family tickets good pension 

What is the best part of working at the company?
You meet different people everyday, and the job can be varied and interesting.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
You work antisocial hours, in all weather and often alone. Violence is unfortunate, but happens, and you need to be aware of it and able to handle that risk. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
There is a substantial divide between the team and management. This has resulted in a hostile workplace, where there is more concern about "watching your back" than getting on with the job.

I've had 4 jobs in 31 years, by far the best job and the industry to work for is the railway.  Not necessarily current company managing this franchise, they are the second one to lead the company, in my 4th year here.  4 years of the most pleasant experience.  I've been an opportunity, where I have trained to be a driver.  Absolutely fantastic progression, where you're encouraged and pushed to do better.

The friendliest organisation I have ever worked in, people are professional.  Given autonomy to progress projects and enact change.  Always plenty of scope to work on improvements and drive change through cooperation with our unions.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 24 salaries reported	£29,193 per year
Driver 1 salary reported	£69,617 per year
Private first class 5 salaries reported	£27,154 per year
Training manager 4 salaries reported	£41,313 per year
Host/hostess 7 salaries reported	£27,557 per year

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