store manager

duty manager

truck driver

it support

warehouse worker

Heron Foods

Never in my life have I seen a management team that gets moved around more, every 6 months we had a new store manager. This was very frustrating as most of the time these managers were forced into taking the other stores and as we were not one of the more profitable stores we were at the bottom of the priorities list. This was in situations where if we needed more staff on the floor to combat shoplifting, which happens a lot, we were declined. We never received a refurbishment for years and the shop was out dated by other stores in the area massively because of this clear neglect.

A few things to note about herons (my opinions)

1. Shoplifting - this happens very frequently in herons and quite possibly higher up (area manger) couldn’t care less, if you had shoplifters, you received a higher shrink and stock loss which then the area manager takes hours from the store to recoup this lost money. Then you don’t have enough staff and are normally working 1 manger and 1 till staff who also had to cover the whole shop floor which makes it a prime target for more shoplifters. If this confuses you to read imagine working like this for 5 years. 

2. Hours - working in herons PTSA’s are given 12 hour contracts which are not near enough to live on comfortably but for younger people and students this can be great as one of the only positives is the flexibility of this company. However, the inconsistency of these hours is very frustrating as one week you can work just 12 however next week you will be working 30+ and then the next week your back down to 12. This inconsistency can mess with any beneficial income for yourself. 

3. Wages - still to this day herons are able to get away with underpaying young staff for doing the same job as their older workers which is quite frankly disgusting. Why should I be paid less than someone else doing the exact same job just because of my age? (also to mention you have to be over the age of 25 to be eligible for a competitive hourly pay)

4. Welfare - I have received incidents where I have been threatened both in the store and out of the workplace by shoplifters. This happens more than you think and the “welfare policy” is completely debunked in herons. I never received any form of counselling or assurance just told to get on with my job and “ignore” death threats in work. The norm really for herons. 

5. Management - In herons you will have to expect that there is a pecking order and the managers who have been spoon fed the best and latest stores will be the only ones who truly benefit from higher up. In my experience management is flawed completely as they work nearly always over their hours and as salaried are not paid for the extra. 

Some more smaller details to note would be,
- families actively working together 
- the amount of things employees are expected to do is too much for this shocking wage
- how dependant mangers are on employees to drop all plans and pick up extra shifts and if they are not able to they are neglected in the future. 

One of the good things about herons for me was the other PTSA and rare managers that I worked alongside in my years spent there. The people can really make or break your job experience and for me they helped me get through so much in my time in herons.

Overall I would only recommend herons if you live close by the store and want to really really really challenge yourself. 

If you want job satisfaction. Get yourself back on job search.



I worked at Heron Foods Warehouse Melton for exactly a year.
In the year my father died which was of great upset to me and have struggled a bit since privately and not been able to talk with anyone ,with no support from work at any stage.
I took three sicknesses over a six month period which was no fault of my own but at Heron you are made to feel like a criminal ..its frowned on greatly as i found out with the loss of my job over the three sickness periods.
i was a good worker with above average pick figures and got on with staff and employees alike and really enjoyed my job .
At the management meeting  (which was only one person from management(,a floor manager) and someone from HR taking notes)  i was on they said they had to let me go because they said i was still on probation even though i had been there a year and couldnt extend it which i found strange ..after a full year i shouldnt have been on probation still anyway and says its only a 9 month probation period in the contract they give you. The 3 month extension should have been finished as well so why couldnt it have been extended further with me been there a full year already. .
My freezer team leader on that day i was sacked was very shocked and would have spoke up for me if he had known he said and couldnt understand why i had lost my job as much as i was shocked ...because believe me i was totally shocked...why wait all that time to finish me when my absences where from months before .
They took half an hour to decide and said it was a very hard decision but they had no option because couldnt extend my probation any more which i couldnt understand + how can one floor manager make that decision by him self ..one person with that power seems unfair for something so important as my job   and i wasnt asked if i wanted anyone one to represent me which i would have done if i had known how serious it was and not just a formality as i had been given the impression it was going to be ..
i had been at work 6 hours that day on my 12 hour shift and to be called up to the office and half hour later been asked to leave the building is an horrible way to do things .
I was totally enjoying my job and good at it and to be treat this way as come as a big shock and didnt realise that such a big company would and could just throw some one aside like they did with me and would love to speak to someone from head office about it .

It's a difficult job and environment to work in, as a ptsa you WILL be stuck on a till for 6 plus hours a shift with no break, the staff are very clicky, talk about staff behind their backs, it's quite toxic that way, management don't care about your circumstances they just want you to work, higher management don't even acknowledge you when visiting the store, you WILL be working every weekend, whether you want to or not, the shifts are all over the place, you're literally a gap filler, you get called in when you're on holiday because of low staffing, sometimes you don't even get your holidays because all the management give preferential treatment to their favourite staff members including giving them the best shifts and best part of the work day (shop floor) if you're new to the shop, expect to spend every single shift on the till whether you like it or not, the staff turnover in some stores is terrible, other stores have staff groups that are all friends outside of work, so you will never fit in.

It is not a great work environment at all, 12 hours is also the minimum you will do, if you will work 60, they will let you, unpaid of course, one shift i had was 6am till 8.30pm and i spent the entirety of it on the till with no break, on a regular day it's 6 plus hours on the till with no break, this includes a drink or toilet, you're made to feel guilty when you're on a day off for having the day off, some weeks you will work 6 out of the 7 days, shift patterns aren't great, they may suit a parent but you aren't guaranteed the same times every day/week,  you also do a late shift followed by and early one which isn't great at all, or you will do weeks and weeks of late shifts, then weeks and weeks of day shifts, it's just long gruelling, especially if you're stuck standing on a till, yes standing for 6 plus hours, not even an option to sit, the most enjoyable part of the job? Going home.

I currently work as an HGV Driver and have done since Nov 21. I came from a store delivery job which was an absolute shambles in comparison to Heron. I don’t intend to particularly leave here any time soon as the job fits my lifestyle. Heron plays by the book in regards to driving regulations and vehicle maintenance is good on their new fleet of 23/73 Scania P420/ Volvo FM
Day at work: Collect notes, complete checks and simply make your way to the deliveries, deliver stock and collect waste, return to the yard.
Management: No complaints really, some store management like to think they’re the boss of you whilst you’re at their shop, simply tell them otherwise. Like anywhere there are favourites and some people get better pick of the runs than others at times but I don’t take part in this sort of thing, I’ll go where sent
Culture: Mixed really, good cross section of people as colleagues each with varying levels of experience, can learn plenty from them, downside is not all considerate, some drivers have little respect for the trucks and equipment and will try to make their job easier by refusing to pick up waste from stores leaving it behind 
Hardest Part: Easily the manual labour, we must unload at stores and may be required to pull wheeled cages from the truck to the store over varying distances and surfaces, if you’re fit and able it’s not a problem, if you don’t want to break your nails it’s not going to be for you.  Delivery spaces can be tight but they get easier with experience and by getting advice from colleagues. The shift pattern could be regarded as a negative as you will get few weekends off but again for myself who has worked weekends for 10 years now having two off in every six is quite good but when you do end your week you get plenty of time off to recuperate.
Enjoyable: The driving, it doesn’t feel like work to me, visiting different places, building a relationship with colleagues and learning all the time.


I joined Heron Foods almost 22 years ago as a Warehouse Supervisor working on the twilight shift. The warehouse was going through a transitional period at the time and soon enough I ended up as a Night Supervisor. I was given lots of opportunity to learn many different aspects of warehouse and Transport in those early years. This gave me the opportunity to progress within the Heron Foods operation. I have held numerous roles during my Heron career which have included Night Shift Manager, Warehouse Operations Manager and Transport Manger roles before ending up in my current position overseeing the Transport operation.

Joining Heron foods has proven to be the best career decision that I could ever have made; I don’t know of any other business out there that gives its employees the chance to progress like we do here. I have taken great pride in seeing and assisting in the progression of so many amazing people during my years here and I know Heron Foods has a great legacy and future ahead because of this.

The Warehouse/Shops to Wheels program that we run is industry leading and is something which many other businesses have now followed suit in introducing. Putting these fantastic individuals through the full process of becoming an HGV driver to then assisting them until they become competent HGV drivers is something I am extremely proud of.
I have also seen so many colleagues progress from Warehouse Pickers and HGV drivers in to Supervisory and Management positions. Heron has also supported these employees with their progression by giving them the opportunity to gain some fantastic qualifications that they can use throughout their whole career path which include CMI and LMI and CPC Managers courses. Heron really does invest in its employees and I am really proud to say I work for such a fantastic company which I hope to continue to do so for the entirety of my working career.

Thank you Heron foods you have been such a huge part of my life.


I joined Heron last year because I had found I was no longer enjoying the role I had as Store Manager for a rival Multiple Retailer.  You may well have the same experience as I had found where you spent much of your day in an office based role with copious amounts of admin, Teams call, returns to complete etc. I found I was getting less time to spend with my team developing them, and crucially less and less time with the people we exist to serve, our customers.

Heron Foods is different.  Here the focus is on running a tight efficient ship, where we focus on our shop floor  and you get hands on time with your teams and your customers throughout the day.   

You will spend time merchandising shop space with fast moving lines, able to put your stamp on the store.  Our shops are community based where you get to know  your regular customers.  You will work with great people and will spend time on the shop coaching and developing your teams.

Area Mananger's will as you would expect hold you to account, but crucially they are also there to offer support, advice and help you to develop and grow the business.  

There is an excellent e learning platform within the business that supports the hands on training you will receive in store.  This platform assists you when rolling out training to you team.

The job can at times be exhausting, you will work hard, the role is physical and hands on, but so rewarding.  You are able to order up on the lines that you know will work locally, and make merchandising decisions based upon your knowledge and experience.  This means you go home knowing that you have had a key role to play in the stores performance.

If like I did you work for one of the large supermarket chains and have found that the role has changed beyond all recognition in recent years, and you are frustrated to spend so little time, where it matters, on the shop floor,  then I would encourage you to join the Heron family.  



Firstly I would like to state that during my time at Heron Foods I have met some amazing people, not just in my IT department, and this is no way a reflection on the people who I speak to on a daily basis.

Starting Heron as a 1st line engineer back in 2019 was my first job in IT and was made to feel very welcome by other colleagues in the 1st/2nd and 3rd line department. From the start I was never really given the impression that my head of department was interested as there was never any real communication between us or taking an interest in me as a person. As time went on I began to understand that the department as a whole was made to feel like that, through no fault of their own. The staff moral and not feeling wanted is a huge part of why me and all my other colleagues left the 1st line department. When the company pay less then the national average salary you'd think they would offer some sort of benefits or incentives but there really isn't any. 10% off your Heron or B&M shop benefits them more than us.

The company's lack of understanding and compassion during Covid really did open my eyes. My sister who lives at home with me caught covid quite early on as she worked on a covid ward at Hull Royal. During my isolation period, I was put on SSP despite being fully fit and able to work from home as the company decided 'I;m not allowed to work from home as other people in the business can't'. This is just one example of how the business goes above and beyond to 'help its staff'.

The company prides itself on its strong morals and opportunities but on my last day I didn't even get a thanks or wish you all the best from my own head of department. We as a department was never given the opportunity to progress. Promotion to the 2nd line can only be achieved, as stated by my head of department, by passing a Cisco networking exam which is highly unnecessary and over complicated for

Best employment I've ever worked for, I started working for Herons at the age of 16, two weeks off turning 17 as a college student and the company was very accommodating to me being a student, I was able to work as many hours as I could due to me being at college. I was trained using the till , the lottery machine, and the pay point machine. 

A typical day at work would be turning up and either going on till or beginning to put stock out. Days varied depending on the needs of the store, sometimes I'd change displays , do planograms, clean, work on till or put out stock, or all of the above in one day.

At this employment I learned how to operate a till, how to do a planogram, how to change a display, and how to use lottery and paypoint. I also learned how to do challenge 25 and stop shop lifting and the correct way to respond to it, and other issues the store may face.

The management were friendly, hard working , caring, and understanding. At this employment I was able to reach my full potential and it raised my confidence, I met a wonderful group of people at this employment and the store was able to work around my student schedule. 

The workplace was upbeat, friendly, enjoyable, efficient , hard working, positive. 

The hardest part of the job had to be initially learning how to work the till, but once I'd been there a while it came naturally. 

The most enjoyable part of the job had to be the staff, and our regular customers who'd have a chat on the till, it was a very friendly environment for staff and customer alike. Helping customers was an enjoyable part of the job as despite it being a small gesture it was quite rewarding being able to help someone who otherwise would struggle.

This company is an absolute chambles that treat their employees like something on the bottom of their shoe.

I worked at Heron for around 6 months but in all honesty I'm surprised I lasted that long. At the start your given no training, put on a till and just expected to know everything. Many new people along with me felt we had just been thrown into a job not really knowing what we were suppose to be doing. 

The senior management at Heron Foods are absolutely shocking! rude, self centred and unapproachable individuals that are only bothered about themselves. I think the skill set required to be a manager or supervisor is just to be mean, aggressive and make everyone below you seem inferior to you! If this is the calibre of managrment they have running there shops I would hate to think what the Head Office are like! 

The area and regional managers are no better either! They come in sit on their laptops and the only time they speak to you is to critics you when you've supposably done something wrong. Every couple of weeks we would have a stock take on a Sunday, and it was another opportunity for The Area plus Store manager to dig into you about the way you're underperforming! There was never any positives and quite frankly it was belittling. An Area manager I quote said "If I find someone leaving boxes on fridges again I'm going to break there legs" very professional. 

Nothing's never good enough for Heron Foods, my advice would be to stay away like many people have said. The job roles are easy and the staff bar the managers are nice but it's an over complicated job made by the managers. A stepping stone for bigger and better things.

I've been with the company for nearly 5 years as a store manager, a lot has changed, some for the good but probably more for the worse.

For context, this is my 2nd review. I recently deleted my more positive review, at the time it was a fair and balanced reflection with how I saw the company. I championed this company.

As times changed, my review changes.

As in all walks of life, it depends on who your manager is. Some managers are great; others....

The job and company is face paced, always lots to do, change is constant. 

There is a high expectation in the delivery of compliance, with they little thought or care about the staff that have to deliver.

A company with no heart or care towards it staff.  Staff in the office get 3% payrise. Warehouse staff get really good bonuses. Drivers have got 7% in 3years.  Managers get minimum wage rise, store managers got 0% or 1.5% payrise

One of the Herpn values is honesty. Feedback is ignored. 

Loosing sight of the fact that the customer and therefore the stores that serve them should be the centre of everything we do.

Customers are not the company's primary focus, instead losing its own identity. Managers are leaving in droves.

There is such a focus on compliance, that we wrap ourselves up in it. The store managers job is now impossible, as it is impossible to comply with all the compliance, it contradicts itself at every turn.

There is a particular team in the office which is toxic and divisive, ruling through fear or ignorant of the issues.

The ivory tower is falling. Sad to see the demise of what was a good company.

Pros
Shifts can work around family
Cons
Minimum wage for staff. General staff not allowed to work over 20hrs. Basic pension.
2% payrise in 5 years

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Store manager 17 salaries reported	£30,897 per year
Duty manager 17 salaries reported	£18,720 per year
Truck driver 14 salaries reported	£40,334 per year
It support 2 salaries reported	£23,500 per year
Warehouse worker 16 salaries reported	£13.28 per hour

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