What is it like to work at Aldi? Employees reveal long hours, poor work-life balance…but good pay
Staff at the budget store have lifted the lid on the secrets of the price conscious supermarket’s success
STAFF at Aldi claim that the working culture at the budget supermarket is one of a poor work-life balance, long hours and a competitive environment that is pushing workers to “quit from exhaustion”.
Budget stores Aldi and Lidl are continuing to gain ground on the UK’s big four supermarkets, converting thousands of shoppers in recent years.
Now, in nearly 2,000 staff reviews around the world posted on job search website , Aldi’s employees have lifted the lid on the secrets of the price conscious supermarket’s success.
The terms "work-life balance" as well as "no work/life balance" were mentioned among the disadvantages of working for Aldi in about 200 employee reviews worldwide. "Long hours" were also mentioned in 110 negative reviews.
One anonymous employee, who claims to have been working for the company full-time for more than a year, said Aldi is pushing staff to work harder and longer - potentially leading to exhaustion.
“The company will push you until you injure yourself or quit from exhaustion,” he said.
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His claims were reiterated by an assistant store manager based in Wolverhampton who warned prospective candidates that they should be prepared to “work like robots”.
"As a manager I work my socks off with no reward or praise. Even after 11 years of service," he said.
“Money, money and money. These are the only pros for working for this company that does not think or care about its management at store level,” he added.
Another store manager from Chelmsford said that Aldi’s “leadership culture is built on threats and pressure” while area managers would benefit from “training in empathy and listening skill.”
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Only a handful of reviews on Glassdoor relate to our business in the UK, and these are not representative of the views of our 29,000 colleagues.
"We offer the highest hourly rates of pay in the supermarket and actively welcome feedback from employees.
"For example, in our most recent independently-conducted employee survey, 85 per cent of our employees rated Aldi as a great place to work, which is significantly higher than the sector average.”
Despite the negative reviews employees praised Aldi for its great pay and benefits.
“Serious responsibility, unparalleled learning experience. Great car. Good pay,” an area manager in London commented.
Aldi opened its 700th UK store in February and confirmed it is on track to notch up 1,000 outlets by 2022. The company has about 7,600 stores worldwide.
Earlier this year it announced it will increase its minimum pay rate for store staff across the UK, in an effort to overtake Lidl to become the UK’s highest-paying supermarket.
Aldi staff now earn £8.53 per hour, raised to £9.75 per hour for those who live in London.
This is higher than the Government’s national living wage rate of £7.20 an hour. It even surpasses the Living Wage Foundation’s voluntary rate of £8.25 per hour.
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