sous chef

line cook

server

assistant restaurant manager

receptionist

The Ivy Collection

I worked at the Ivy as a bartender for a year and a half. Truly the worst work environment I have ever experienced. From the below average pay as they hired me in 2020 on £8.50 and told me it would go up to 9.50 once I have 'earned my uniform',  which they continuously delayed just like they did with 'pay rises' which occurred later on. On top of that after you are  given the job you are given a contract which opts you into working over 48 hours a week and are told if you do not sign it that you will not be given the job. The entire management are like a group of catty teenagers who would rather stand around and talk rubbish about their staff without actually helping them and staff are mostly hired without any experience at all and it's expected from the employees (who are on minimum wage) to fully train them whilst going on with daily service. which is regularly overpacked despite understaffing/staff abilities. This obviously means that the staff cannot provide the full training as they are constantly bogged down by so much other work, hence the unofficial ivy motto "Learn or Leave". This is all because they want to earn as much money as possible and spend as little as they can and they do not care about over working staff at all. I was working over 70 hour weeks as a 19/20 year old and they would not take no for an answer. You are constantly guilted into doing more and not taking breaks, starting earlier and finishing later without pay! The chefs refuse to make staff food at some points even though your break is non extendable so that often times means you go without eating, certain fueds or disrespecting the wrong people will mean you're threatened with having your food left outside on the pavement. I will give the Ivy one thing though, I worked hard and learned so so much they gave me the capacity to be the best bartender in the game because quite frankly.. NOWHERE GETS WORSE THAN THE IVY. If you fancy a challenge and improving your skills then this is the place for you because anything less than perfection everytime will leave you in the trash and crying your eyes out after every shift. If that's not you then please find anywhere else. Don't sell your soul to the Ivy.

Working for The Ivy in Manchester, UK, can offer several positive aspects, including:

Prestige and reputation: The Ivy is known for its high-quality service, elegant atmosphere, and fine dining experience. Being part of such an esteemed establishment can enhance your professional reputation and provide a sense of pride in working for a renowned brand.

Career growth and development: The Ivy often provides opportunities for career progression and development. They may offer training programs, mentorship, and the chance to work with experienced professionals in the hospitality industry. This can contribute to your professional growth and open doors to future opportunities.

Vibrant work environment: The Ivy in Manchester likely fosters a lively and energetic work environment. As it attracts a diverse clientele, you can expect to interact with a range of people, including locals, tourists, and celebrities. This dynamic atmosphere can make each day exciting and engaging.

Learning from experts: Working at The Ivy can expose you to industry experts who possess extensive knowledge and skills in hospitality. By working alongside these professionals, you can learn valuable insights, refine your abilities, and acquire new techniques that can benefit your career in the long run.

Teamwork and camaraderie: In a reputable establishment like The Ivy, teamwork is crucial for delivering exceptional service. You may have the opportunity to collaborate with a dedicated and passionate team, fostering a sense of camaraderie and creating lasting connections with your colleagues.

Employee benefits: The Ivy often provides attractive employee benefits packages, which may include competitive salaries, bonuses, staff discounts, and other perks. These benefits can contribute to your overall job satisfaction and well-being.

Fellow lower level staff were fine to work with. Management were unorganised and overly demanding, sometimes shouting at and insulting staff, I've seen fellow staff upset after being shouted at a number of times. This place would prefer it if you had next to no social life as rotas only came out 2 or 3 days beforehand for each week. Your days off are screwed because especially food running sometimes for 12/13 hours with no break mentally and physically drains you. You get called in on your days off too sometimes, as people regularly called in sick because of being overworked and getting ill. The atmosphere especially for the waiters and front of house staff as well as chefs was very tense, almost Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmares level some of the time behind the scenes. Sometimes you don't get food you're entitled to because chefs are too busy. On many occasions you are made to take your break ridiculously early or ridiculously late. I've overheard managers say to each other that it doesn't matter if some staff havent had their breaks. A completely numbers driven business desperately trying to maintain the fake caring high quality service facade at great expense to the staff, especially runners ,waiters and bar staff. Understandable pressure from above but the brunt of the pressure is felt on the shoulders of the lower level staff to avoid being shouted at. Not even worth trying to get holidays booked off half the time as holiday requests are regularly lost or forgotten and have to be followed up numerous times.

One of the biggest issues was the clear presence of cliques among management. Favouritism was a real problem. If you were not part of their inner circle or personal friends with certain managers, you were often overlooked for opportunities, given the less desirable jobs, and treated very differently compared to others who were “in favour”. Some members of the management team also appeared too immature for their positions, often making unprofessional decisions based on personal feelings rather than fairness or team morale.
Long 12-hour shifts were expected as standard, with little to no regard for staff wellbeing. It was not uncommon to work six or more hours continuously without being offered a chance to sit down, even just for a few minutes. Ironically, staff who smoked were regularly allowed to step outside for smoke breaks every hour, while non-smokers were left behind to continue working without any similar chance for a breather or rest.
At times, it felt like we were treated as machines, not as people. Basic welfare, like making sure staff were able to rest or take proper breaks, seemed to be a low priority. This inconsistency in how people were treated bred resentment and affected team morale.
There were, of course, some good team members at the staff level who worked hard and supported each other, but overall, the toxic management culture and lack of care for employee wellbeing made it a difficult and demoralising place to work.
they seriously need to address the favouritism, professionalism in management, and show more care towards their staff’s physical and mental health.


Squeezing staff for too much. Numbers driven business which loses sight of service focus e.g too many tables for one waiter = impaired quality of service and increased stress
Waiter keeps up = deteriorates over time.
work-life balance is affected
stress increases
more likely to quit/ become ill suddenly.
Counterproductive way to manage staff by stretching them too far.
Needs a balance between numbers to satisfy investors and stress put on staff so it becomes a valued and proud place to work. My time there saw that the facade was more important than what went on behinds scenes. 
No soul, just a false facade of a caring business. Behind scenes, twelve-hour shifts with sometimes no break. I don't mind long shifts, in fact they are preferred, if I have an adequate break and am looked after. And if we did the chefs were stressed so may not cook the food. So there would be no food, or no break at all as there may have been too many bookings and some member of staff may have called in sick so the staff who were there would have to stretch to compensate which puts the managers into stress and having to cope and be unscrupulous when demanding more in order to meet their targets and pressure from above. 
It disappointed me. It began which such promise as I enjoy giving great service. But not when the pressures are stretched and the unhealthy environment increased to critical levels that everyone is unhappy and stressed around you.

The most degrading bunch of managers I've ever worked for. They judged you on everything, if you're not good looking or too slow on the job they will be sure to mention it. The Glasgow Ivy was the worst Clique of management I've ever seen. They were a nasty bunch. The middle management talked behind your backs, degraded and embarrassed every staff member below them unless they had ""the Ivy standards"", which was something they were always banging on about. There was no Ivy Standard. It is an upmarket wetherspoons where everything, minus the steaks, were bought in frozen, microwaved & overpriced. False promises on job progression, everything was always the staff members fault and not the management. Everything was about money targets and not the actual guest experience. Turnover was umbelievable, up to 900 covers a day on weekends alone. We were robots on the bar, was always being watched and could never relax, chat and genuinely enjoy our jobs as everything had to be mass created as quick as possible to the Clique of management. I left in the end due to being depressed every shift and the job became my whole life and was I was always upset. Never has a job in the industry made me feel worse and belittled as much as, the Ivy Buchanan Street. One piece of advice, just don't apply unless you enjoy high stress roles, or you're just doing it to glam up your CV. 

Very high pressure, plenty of internal politics especially FOH vs BOH.  Unfortunately, it was prominent that senior managers favoured FOH staff compared to BOH. 

Promotions:
Usually given to those close to managers (but still deserving of a promotion) or external hires. Empty promises to get your hopes up seemed to be a common pattern.

Managers:
Pros: Accommodating and understanding of staff's personal situations and gave flexibility to work around it, at least in FOH. Generally friendly and welcoming. Some are really fun to work with and most of them are supportive both in terms of work and emotionally, especially if you are having a rough day.
Cons: Inconsistencies stood out in terms of standards, lack of communication between departments especially between FOH and BOH where BOH seems like they are not kept in the loop of key information in the restaurant. Lack of professionalism as most do not set an example of how a manager should take action in situations, regardless of their certain personal circumstances and relations with other staff. (One rule for me, another for you type of situation). 

Workplace culture:
Very good - everyone there generally have good relationship  both in and out of work. If you like work socials, you will definitely enjoy it there as people will be willing to go for pints after work with you. Shame the more "professional" side of work brings it down.
[Will come back to add more in the future]

What is the best part of working at the company?
Meeting cool people. Nice uniform.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unfortunately the GM is under qualified and depends on the rest of the management team, creating a very poor, hostile working environment, and unprofessional behavior is rife.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Culture is dire, and staff are preferred to act like robots. A typical shift would have you start anytime between 12.00pm and working until 4.30 am, even though they say the latest is 12.am when you join. Extreme turnover of staff. Misrable atmosphere, yet the pompous GM who expects all the staff to be rightly in the correct uniform fails to look smart themselves. The managment will accuse people of stealing with no evidence or even a theft taking place, they will also drink left over wine. Its a sad story.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long days, constantly underpressure, with plenty of big spenders coming due to the reputation of the Ivy, even when or if you do well and get a mystery diner and score 100% you only get a bonus if the gm likes you. And if not your 100% is like it never happened, never appreciated.

I worked as a food runner for 6 months and there wasn’t one shift that I enjoyed. There is a hostile environment between runners and everyone else. There are great people that work as runners some of the best I’ve worked with, but the way you are treated by management and chefs is horrible. even if you slave yourself by taking services for 12 hours sweat dripping down your face from running up and down 3 flights of stairs you’ll still be met with a snarky comment or shouted at for nothing. They also guarantee career progression but it is lie there are at least 5 runners I knew who had worked there for 2/3 years everyday and come anywhere close to promotion. Many people are drove to illness from this job regularly calling in sick and due to no one else coming down to our level to help we just stay understaffed making the job 2x as hard. Many people come in on their first day and never come back because they are thrown into the deep end with no training from anyone. And management genuinely just don’t care about the runners you have to ask about 4 times for days off to get a response.

my typical day at work, was checking emails, organising the restaurant reservations (large tables/ parties), making sure everything in reception was organised, neat and tidy and we had all the inventory we needed. 
then I would run the books for the time I was at work, and make sure all the other reception staff where being proactive. 
at the ivy there is room for growth as I started out as a normal receptionist and got promoted to supervisor within half a year. the job wasn't hard per say, it was just a very busy restaurant especially on Friday Saturdays and Sundays, and you have to be make sure your always thinking one step ahead, and you are very organised. if you have those qualities the job wont be so hard. 
they offer great benefits also for example, a workplace pension, discounts at various places and also a 50% discount on food at any ivy for you and three other guests.and incentives for the staff such as if you was to recommend someone to the company and they exceed their 3 month trail period you get a given some money depending what level of staff you have recommended. so all in all its not a bad place to work, good benefits and room to grow.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sous chef 12 salaries reported	£38,000 per year
Line cook 2 salaries reported	£12.26 per hour
Server 7 salaries reported	£13.00 per hour
Assistant restaurant manager 6 salaries reported	£37,500 per year
Receptionist 5 salaries reported	£36,000 per year

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