retail sales associate

supervisor

merchandiser

sales assistant

sales associate

JD Sports Fashion Plc

If you loved school, you will probably love this job!
The complete undivided loyalty you must give to this company, or particular store you work at, is a serious crime, considering the hypocrisy of what the managers do on a regular basis.
Expecting you to do everything, whilst they stand back, and talk to their favourite employee, or sit in the office all day, whilst the stressed out supervisors are left to run the store.
Partnered with the click based culture you'd find in school, because if you're not a "cool kid" or in with the right people, you wont enjoy your time here.
This is even if you know when you're working! As a lot of the time you experience last minute rotas, including, but not limiting to less than 24hr notice(what you don't legally have to work), changing the shifts multiple times, so you can't actually plan anything in your personal life, or have any type of social life, unless you come into work, hungover, the next day. What the management obviously don't like.

Constantly having day off requests forgotten about(losing money, or cancelling plans), or not having set days off, so you have to work week to week, not knowing if you can plan something with friends. Whilst whoever does the rota can plan their own days off, leaving them days with the least amount of staff, causing more stress within the store.

Day to day, isn't the worse thing in the world, you have a job to do, so given certain circumstances, you do everything in your power to do what you can. Yet that's never good enough for the manager(s) as you're never given any praise at all, only spoke down to, and upon once you do your job, but don't get extra sales/purchases you have to force onto customers.
I'm here to serve the customers, and help them as much as possible, this company makes enough money, and I believe didn't make a loss through the entire lockdown, only didn't gross as much as expected, but still turned a huge profit. But the companies goal is only money, not satisfaction, customer or staff. Only money.

I do believe job security is very high, as JD is one of the largest companies in this field, offering a very specific fashion you struggle to find in it's competitors. 
But as progression goes, you could progress as fast as you'd like, as long as you can bend over backwards, with no reward, and eat it, every single day of your working life. Or you can worship whatever management you like, and can get a fast track to management, and run your own store like the camp they are. All whilst you stand back, and on the shoulders of the staff who are actually putting in the hard work, and take all the rewards. 

A lot of these stores can run themselves, as JD is such a big brand/company, people will shop here regardless.
It's job satisfaction, and staff moral, what the management should control, and improve. If you have happy staff, they'll come to work, on their days off, help each other out, and put in maximum effort. But alas, money is the #1 priority of this company, and the manager(s) certainly drive that home with how staff are treated. 

The hardest part of this job is how difficult it is made, considering all you need to do is help customers get their required items, and send them on their merry way! 
Pushing extra sales, and targets is annoying for both staff, and customers, but again, JD is only about money. Everyone is replaceable in their eyes. Customers and staff alike.

The most enjoyable part of the job is when the manager(s) aren't in, and the supervisors who now have to run the store are happy. 
It's ran smooth, spirits are high, and everyone is having a good time. But still working, and providing great service to the customers. 

Finally, if you're in college/university and are looking for a part time job, this could be the place for you. As the more you're in this place, the worse it gets. Stick to weekends, or 2 days a week and it will probably be okay.
But I wouldn't recommend anyone to try and make a career out of this place. Use it as a stepping stone is you want fast progression, and are willing to get down and dirty to force your way up the ladder. If you're lucky, you'll be in control of a store that matters, and you could find further progression down the line if you make it a nice place to work. 
But you could also progress fast, and try to escape to another company, that respects it's workers, and doesn't have a insane turn over rate for staff.

Summary; only do part time, use it as a stepping stone to find a better job, don't leave your job to come here, friends and favouritism rules all.

I worked at the Argyle Street branch in Glasgow, this is a newly opened store and JD Sports must have decided to send all their worst employees to manage it.

A typical day at work would consist of standing for 8 hours and being treated horribly by management. 

What I have learned from this job is when starting any future jobs, look out for signs that management are bad to their staff and get out of there before I am dependent on the pay (not that it's good).

The management in this store have their on clique and they are all in agreement with treating the general floor staff like dirt, almost like the popular kids at school, maybe they were jealous. There has been multiple cases of bullying, and when any one of the staff stands up to any one of the gang, that is management, they find a way to get them out the door. There is no management in the store that you can speak to about this as they all work together in their attempt to make working life miserable for the staff. Examples of this is changing hours to 12 hour night shifts, with less than a weeks notice, or having staff finish at 9.40pm (40 minutes unpaid) and starting the next day at 7am, if your finishing time wasn't at the store closing time, then it's most likely you will have to work up to 40 minutes after your shift unpaid, any attempts to inform management you need to leave due to other commitments were ignored and they just repeated that you could not leave until they instructed so. Other examples would be management coming over to check your section, and instead of giving constructive feedback, they just decide to throw random insults, like "stupid","fat" and "a waste of space", these are genuine examples of insults members of staff were forced to tolerate by management, any attempt to keep your dignity and answer them back would result in the whole gang turning on you and finding a way to remove you from the shop.

What surprised me most is the way HR at JD sports cut themselves off from the world. I can only assume this is due to the amount of hard done by employees wanting to contact them in order to appeal being flung out the door or put in a grievance about being treated horribly by management. Given the ordeal that was my working experience in JD Sports, I can also only assume that JD Sports as a company condone this behavior as they offer no guidance and make attempts to deter you from contacting HR. This is based on my experience with the general enquiries number where the number they gave me for HR was invalid. All of this combined allows for management to form the cliques and bully employees and there is no evidence that JD Sports is making any efforts to stop this.

Another company similar to this one recently was sent up to Parliament, I see all of the same traits in this company as the one that had to answer for it's actions, and think the same actions should be taken on this company.

I know most of my horrible experience was based on 1 branch, but I think the way treatment of staff isn't reviewed by regional managers and the fact that the company do whatever they can to deter employees from filing a grievance/appealing decisions, makes this company as a whole a company with no integrity, that takes advantage of vulnerable, young, people who do not know working regulations and makes them work hours that break those regulations on a regular basis (example with no lunch), shows that JD sports is definitely not a company worth working for. Take my advice, especially if you are planning on working at Argyle Street.


On a lighter note, co-workers were good, I believe this is because we all had the fact that we had were treated horribly by management in common, we always had something to talk about.

I worked at the JD warehouse at kings way in Rochdale and found it hard work you would constantly be watched by team leaders supervisors and managers and could not stop for literally a minute because you would be told off and threatened that they will give you a strike and there rules are 3 strikes and you get fired. Security would walk around like bosses and constantly try checking you for any chewing gum or sweet or anything else that was banned such as labelled clothing although I worked there for over a year the only reason I stayed that long was because it was the workers that I became good friends with that kept me there. They work on 4days on  4 days off rota and I worked 12 hour shifts they would not let me reduce my hours or days and threatened me that I would be fired if I did so. The management/supervisors walk around constantly looking down at ordinary members of staff and will never acknowledge anything that you have achieved. Your basic human rights are not acknowledged here and no legislation was followed here they have a bullying culture in this company and management will never accept any complaints no matter how genuine if you get hurt here or anything bad happens be prepared for a fight because they have a team of lawyers that are paid to take every case to court. Assist agency who provide JD sports with staff is the worst agency who literally give there workers no rights and are not willing to even listen to their your side they will fire you without a second thought. Assist will constantly underpay you and when you realise and go to their office to speak to them about it they will try and make it look like there's nothing wrong with your wages and that they payed you the correct amount it took me 5 visits to there office to sort it out they had been paying me £80 less every week after  5 Weeks they had underpaid me £400 so when they paid it with my wage I was taxed most of it. Overall the worst place to work makes you feel like a Slave they pay you the bare minimum here there is no job progression you are treated badly and never acknowledged. When you start shift you have to use your fingerprint at one of the machines and everytime you go to or come back from break you use the same machine because if you are even 1 minute late you will be docked 15 minutes pay. The breaks are 15 minutes in the morning 30 at lunch and 15 in the afternoon these are if you work 12 hours you don't get a break if you work 6 hour shifts or less and would get 15 if you work 8 hours. This organisation needs to be investigated because workers have no rights and a lot of the legislations put in place to protect workers are ignored and there is a constant fear amongst workers that they will be fired because constantly workers are fired and made examples of for little mistakes you can be fired here. Workers are constantly getting watched there are security cameras everywhere you go but they still think workers are theifing stock so randomly search you and every time you finish your shift it will take you minimum 15 minutes to get out because everyone is searched by security before you leave. This place was the worst place I ever worked and a real low point in my life I hope nobody has to work in these conditions the worst organisation with a bullying and racist culture and literally slave labour

I recently had the opportunity to work as a store manager for Millets, a subsidiary of JD Sports & Fashion. While the company promotes a work-life balance, my experience revealed several significant shortcomings that made this job far more stressful than anticipated. Additionally, the compensation did not match the level of dedication and effort required for the role.

Firstly, one aspect that struck me was the excessive red tape within the company's operations. Despite the "run it like you own it" concept, the persistent presence of bureaucracy hindered efficient decision-making and limited autonomy. Many procedures were unnecessarily complicated, forcing store managers to navigate an excessive amount of policies. Instead of focusing on enhancing the customer experience and driving sales, a substantial amount of time was wasted on fulfilling administrative requirements.

The high staff turnover at Millets is a direct consequence of these demanding protocols. The company's overcomplicated procedures frustrate employees, making it difficult to provide excellent customer service consistently. The constant training required to keep up with the vast array of policies only added to employees' stress levels. As a result, valuable team members often felt overwhelmed and subsequently sought employment elsewhere, leading to a cycle of continual recruitment and training that strained the store's productivity.

As a store manager, the level of input required to keep operations running smoothly was extensive. I found myself managing multiple responsibilities, from overseeing the daily store operations to managing inventory, coordinating sales, and ensuring employee satisfaction. Unfortunately, the compensation provided did not adequately reflect the time, effort, and commitment demanded in this role. The low pay scale for store managers left me feeling undervalued and underappreciated, especially considering the high level of responsibility placed on my shoulders.

While JD Sports & Fashion emphasizes work-life balance, the reality of the job contradicts this claim. The combination of excessive red tape, high staff turnover, and insufficient compensation undermines the original intention of achieving a healthy work-life balance. The stress and pressure faced by store managers like myself often spills over into personal life, leading to burnout and dissatisfied employees.

In conclusion, working as a store manager for Millets, within JD Sports & Fashion, proved to be a challenging and stressful experience. The company's red tape, high staff turnover, and inadequate compensation make it difficult for store managers to excel and find fulfillment in their roles. Improvements such as streamlining procedures, revisiting compensation packages, and providing more support to store managers would be beneficial in fostering a positive work environment and reducing turnover rates in the company.

Disclaimer: This review is based on my personal experience and may not represent the views of all store managers at JD Sports & Fashion or Millets.

Culture:
The company's head office seems to have mastered the art of low accountability, cleverly disguised by an "in your face" culture. Unfortunately, these values and principles are about as real as fictional reading material. It's like reading a gripping novel that turns out to be all smoke and mirrors.

Lack of Organisation and Responsibility:
If chaos had a poster child, it would be our organisation. The concept of departmental and individual responsibility seems to have gone on an extended vacation. The result? Poor performance, stress levels through the roof, and more finger-pointing than a game of musical chairs. We desperately need a GPS to navigate through the confusion and frustration, as it often feels like an "Us vs Them" battle.

Management:
Upper management seems blissfully unaware or purposefully ignorant of the daily operational obstacles we face. Instead, they indulge in extravagant "managerial away days," munching on biscuits and discussing topics that rival the meaning of life. Sadly, these meetings are as fruitful as planting jellybeans and expecting a candy tree. Meanwhile, the pressure to cut costs on the front lines keeps growing, making management appear more tone-deaf than a tone-deaf choir.

The Hardest Part:
Imagine running a marathon with one leg tied behind your back while juggling flaming torches. That's what it feels like when you don't have enough staff or investment to meet the workload expectations. Add a dash of poor planning and voila! You have a recipe for preventable disasters and frustration galore.

Career Development and Progression:
If you're hoping for career advancement, your best bet is waiting for someone to quit or hoping for a promotion by divine intervention. The people team offers training sessions, but they're about as challenging as untangling earphones. In other words, they cover the most mundane and unexciting aspects of the job, leaving you craving more.

Other Employees:
Picture a manager who understands your needs as well as a goldfish understands algebra. That's the unfortunate reality many of us face. The lack of support and empathy when dealing with team issues only adds fuel to the fire of demoralisation and resentment. It's like trying to dance with two left feet while your partner is glued to the wall.

My Recommendation:
In all seriousness, I cannot, with a straight face, recommend anyone to join this company. While it may look impressive on a financial spreadsheet or your CV, the truth is, the job will take a toll on your well-being. There are far better employers in the Manchester Area who will value your skills and treat you like a human being rather than a cog in a malfunctioning machine. So, dust off your CV and set sail for greener pastures—trust me, you'll thank me later. And don't forget to bring your sense of humour along for the ride!

I worked at JD Stanstead for a month and 2/3 weeks on a 40hr contract as a Sales Assistant. 
JD is a good place to work for anyone young (as in below the age of 20). This place is okay to start off as something temporary. You can definitely get a better job elsewhere so don’t settle. 

Pros
Nice Uniform, Sales Assistant Staff and Supervisors. Work Environment. 

Cons
Worst place I’ve worked ever. Pay(your paid according to your age) and is the least paying job in the airport, I used to work at the airport for 9p/h, at 19 that’s very good pay. Rota (I worked 5 days in a row one week and had a day off to then go and work another 4 in a row with a day off). Poor Management. They Operate somewhat based on favouritism. The store Manager decides when they want to be stern & serious and who to. In simpler terms some days they seem to care and tell you off about things they hadn’t before, other days the don’t seem to care and somewhat seem very relaxed. No bonuses for performance/Sales. You don’t even get the discount they tell you about in the interview or contract. (Some staff members had to wait 6/7months for theirs). No proper training provided at the start like most normal jobs (they just talk through it and tick it off the list, if your lucky to have nice colleagues like I did you can ask them to show you how to do things) other than that it’s a learn as you go type of thing as you do get better after some time.  

Advice to Management
Either add a well experienced individual or Take a step back from operations and honestly listen to your staff. If some have vented to you actually listen and take on board what they say. Personally I’ve never had a job with poor management. Not once did I hear any praise or some sort of recognition to sales assistants or Supervisors who consistently did a great job. And you wonder why your constantly putting out job Ads and conducting interviews. 
I myself worked hard at the beginning but lost morale after a week or so because your expected to do a lot on very bad pay when your starting at 4am on 4 consecutive days only to get a day off and then start at 4 the next day.  

Giving someone a day off after they’ve worked 4am shifts consecutively to then go and put them on a 4am start the following day, instead of a closing shift is a joke. There’s no time to properly rest and rejuvenate, especially when the human body needs rest. So please consider changing that. Or changing to a regular 4 on 4 off. Because you will constantly be putting out job Ads. 

More time honestly  needs to be put into managing the rota, because the issue I found and some staff have isn’t with the start time. But with the way the rota is set. I don’t understand how 2 people can have the job of doing the rota but make the mistake of putting me on to work from 1pm-10pm only to start at 4am-1pm THE NEXT DAY lol. Make it make sense! If I hadn’t flagged it up I would of been expected to work. 

Took ages to get paid after I left. Oh you don’t get paid for online training either like your told you will in the interview (Another lie).  Job at this store is Satisfactory for School leavers and part time Uni Students but you can honestly find better with better pay. Forget the benefits that you don’t receive until well after 6months and work somewhere that pays you £9p/h.

Being from one of the smallest stores is both good and bad. Previously being on good terms with the manager meant my life was easy there, I still pulled my weight and put a lot of effort into what I did but meant I never felt stressed or rushed, I consider us good friends and we even talk outside of work (although I doubt this would happen in other larger stores). Although, from what I’ve seen and heard, the ones higher up from that are not the best; I see a lot of pressure put on the manager but have only ever seen someone from higher up step in the store once since I began working there a year ago. I made good friends with the rest of the colleagues as well although you do discover that quite a lot of them are two faced and will say things behind your back or put the blame on you for others mistakes. For the people I would consider friends outside of work, it’s a pleasure to work with them as time flies but you feel good at the end of the day as you can get a lot done if jobs are planned out correctly between people. Some people though are just pure lazy and will try their best to make their lives easy and pass off harder tasks on other (hiding in the back when it gets busy, picking and choosing jobs etc). Some management do not have a clue how to do their jobs, for example, for months I have said the fact that I need more hours or longer shifts to be able to cover my rent but instead the shifts are given to whoever is making the Rotas ‘friends’, alongside that, there is constant mistakes in the rota and just recently I planned a holiday and told the assistant manager (rota planner) 3 times when I was going yet it still got put down incorrectly. As a result one of the shifts I did not turn up and they were left short staffed - although the assistant manager was aware it was his mistake so did not even call me to see where I was. The store always overspends on wages due to poor rota planning but so many people still request more shifts and we’re even currently hiring for a full time position when I’ve asked for full time hours so many times. The pay is good for teens as the pay is the same for a 21 but when you think about it reversed it’s pretty poor. Pay was weekly but got changed to monthly annoyingly. There’s not too many benefits to this job except decent music to work with, ability to make friends and some discount (but even that’s capped). I’m Currently looking for my next job that can at least cover rent but I will say I will miss the environment and (some) people when I go. Hope this helps anyone looking to join JD

Workers at JD are not valued for their skills or their hard work, they are merely there to service a purpose as a worker regardless of their opinions or views. The company employs with an intent to get as much work out of the individual as possible without giving much back. I feel like i am part of a cattle branch and i am simply used to get as much of their work done as i can. I was working for the company for around 2 weeks and even after this period they were ringing me asking if i wanted to attend an interview. This simply shows their organisational and have no idea who there employees even are for that matter. Many people are fired for simple mistakes, although you are employed on a permanent temporary contract so you cannot really argue. The company wants to get as many people as they can through the doors to do their work and not give any applause or recognition for it. They do not take into account that i would be able to do other jobs such as using IT software to maybe utilize my skills and take into consideration my suggested improvements. Many of the workers are given a task where they have to stand still for over 11 hours sticking labels onto clothes without anything such as a chair or a mat to cover the hard concrete floor below them. Even a simple stool would make the job more enjoyable and the work rate would probably increase. I have not really met many people who have worked their for a duration of over 2 months which shows their high rate of employee turnover. I do not enjoy work one little bit which in turn probably decreases my work ethic, I am also quite positive from speaking to fellow workers that they all have the same feeling and are only there because they have to be. I in fact asked if there was any other jobs i could do as there was no longer any work to do on my section, although i was told to sweep up for as long as i could when there were other areas that were busy although they couldn't offer me a quick five minute induction and what i needed to do to fulfill another task. With everyday that comes i do my best to get as much as i can done in the warehouse, but i am not given even a simple thank you from supervisors. Another point to consider is the supervisors, they stand around doing nothing but watching you even when the work load is heavy, i am very confused as to why some of these people are employed as all they do is stand around and watch people struggle when work is busy and have a conversation among them selves, even though they are paid more.

A typical day at work includes interacting with customers, ordering a variety of products. If the customer orders shoes, the order will be given through a "Walkie-Talkie" or a scanner depending on which store. Frequently customers order online which will be delivered to the till by stockroom assistants. Regular checks of footwear and material standards are also crucial to up-keep the presentation of the store.

There was a few things I learned while working at JD Sports.
Your knowledge on urban products increase over time also knowing how to keep the presentation of either footwear or materials improve over time. You learn how to navigate customers to the product they are looking for online and can be shipped to their home or if necessary to their local JD outlet.

I can not vouch for every manager under JD Sports stores but Management in JD Sports Stratford was the worst I have seen and worked for. little things such as staff lunches un-organised, staff rota's where always last minute, if a staff member did call in sick they did not have a safety staff member to fill in inside the store, therefore, calling up other staff members on their day off who are reluctant to come in, sometimes putting people jobs on the line if they did not attend (On their day off!).. Days where there is no managers where the most relaxed where you can work in confidence and didn't have managers breathing down your neck every second. 

The best part of your job, your co-workers. JD Sports co-workers are just like you, young adults or teenagers looking for an established sports and urban brand to work under, you will most probably have similar characteristics as your fellow staff members than you know, i could talk to any of the staff members with confidence (excluding managers) about literately anything which makes you love your job and want to work here..  i still keep in contact with a lot of the staff members that are still there and have left the store.

the hardest part of the job is The managers.. 
STAY ON THEIR GOOD SIDE AT ALL COST OR THEY WILL ENFORCE THEIR POWER!
other than that make sure you do your standards well, and you arrive on time for work and back from your lunch and its all good.

you will enjoy your co-workers company and the variety of customers with the store will keep you entertained throughout your working hours

Start by doing housekeeping on the shop floor. When the shop opens there is a variety of task to be undertaken. There may be folding which may need to be completed or a new delivery to be processed or cutomers that may need help finding the products they want. Everyday is different. Throughout the day, I may will be standardising textiles and making sure they are looking presentable for customers. As well as this I may have to cover other staff members when they go on break or if they additional help in different sections of the store. For example, when the footwear section is very busy I may be asked to help out in that section until the store dies down and then return to my original tasks for the day. At some point during the day I will have my break which I love and hate at the same time because only one member of staff can be on break at a time so you are usually alone. At the end of the day, we will usually stay unto 2 hours after the store shuts in order to make the store presentable for the next working day.
This is my favourite part of the day as I can chat with other staff while I work deal my remaining tasks. My least favourite part of the job is dealing with the mountain of tasks that I am given everyday. I feel that we heavily understaffed and at Christmas, even though we were drafted in as Christmas temps, I feel that not enough staff were taken on board as we struggled to cope with  amount of customers that we had as well as keep the store presentable and do all the other things we need to do in store. Te management was very good and incredibly organised. They helped me a lot and taught many skills and always made time to make sure that I knew what I was doing. Adding to this, even when they had much more important work to do they would always help me if I was having trouble doing my job. However, I have learned a lot from this job. Most of important of all is to not panic, which when I started I did a lot as it was my first job and I didn't want to mess up. The best way of doing this job is to always remain calm and seek help from co-workers when problems arise. The staff that worked with me were great and all were very friendly towards me and I soon felt part of the team. I feel that this job is one best available to those who want to test themselves and see how they are able to perform under immense pressure whilst continuing to provide the best customer service possible.

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