Pros
Really interesting work and cases, great training opportunities (even for junior staff) I have developed a lot since working here and have been encouraged to take on more challenging work. The work is very varied. Overall I enjoyed working here however there are many things that could be improved.
Cons
If you are permanent staff this is a good place to work. However FTC/Temps are treated pretty badly and are often let go without much notice. Its very difficult to get a perm job despite what HR tell you when joining. They told me the temp status was only was until my probation was over. They said paralegals hired before me had all been offered permanent jobs after six months, and I would to - provided I passed my probation. I found out that this was not true after I joined. The FCA do not like creating perm positions so you will most likely be let go before two years, and I know many who have despite being competent and well liked. This is also bad for teams because they have to bring in new people to train which obviously has an impact in terms of capacity etc especially as it often takes months to recruit replacements. It’s also not great for the culture having a high turnover. Very long work hours - there is too much work and too little staff. Even junior staff are expected to work long hours to keep on top of deadlines. I often feel swamped with work. However, there is no overtime paid and for FTC/Temps there are no bonuses either (again despite what you are told when joining) so it’s very unfair as you are basically working a full time job (and part time job If you add up the extra hours - & working for free) The remuneration for the amount of work and hours you do is terrible and managers have no empathy for this. I know great mangers but equally I had one who was known to be difficult to work with and had a history of bullying issues so why this person was given line management responsibility is very strange. It can be extremely cliquey (almost reminiscent of high school) it definitely comes down who you know not what you know in terms of progression. I also feel as though if you are from a different background you can be made to feel like abit of an outcast, very London centric and there is pressure to ‘fit into the culture’. Also the organisation is very overly concerned with policy and procedure at the expense of efficiency or common sense.