Avoid head office like the plague - Anonymous employee Mint Velvet Employee Review

1.0
30 Jan 2020
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent staff discount, close to station

Cons

As other reviews have said, the whole environment in head office is toxic. For a company who will tell you there is 'no hierarchy'... there is a serious hierarchy but it's got absolutely nothing to do with talent. Managers are unprofessional, fake and bad at their jobs. Most have little to no prior experience working anywhere else and it shows. I've never worked somewhere with so many cripplingly insecure individuals throwing their weight around to make themselves look better than the teams of underpaid juniors who are quite literally carrying them. Pray for anybody who dares asks for help, or suggests things could be done differently. Rest assured, as other employees on your team quit in their droves, the company won't bother to replace them but will happily turn teams against them and throw them under the bus. And if you apply for a role here, better make sure you're prepared to apply for five others you have no interest in or time to do, because when they don't replace other people, guess who'll be doing their jobs? You guessed it. It's you. Congratulations. Five people's roles and the same paltry salary you started on. The whole culture is suffocating and stressful and they make it impossible to switch off outside of work hours. even if you're off sick you can't go two hours without checking your emails because there is no one to delegate the simplest task to.

Explore other reviews about Mint Velvet

1.0
14 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Employee discount and sample sales are great, but the only reason I stayed as long as I did was because of some really kind and caring colleagues, who made difficult days manageable.

Cons

The culture in head office is extremely toxic - it was not uncommon to see someone walk out in tears, followed by another colleague to comfort them. The biggest issue is the complete lack of leadership training. There are people in management positions who are young, inexperienced and clearly unsupported in how to manage people effectively. Throughout my time here, my manager was often patronising, dismissive, and rude in both tone and body language. She was never apologetic after an outburst and had a severe lack of empathy. Mistakes she made that negatively impacted my work were never acknowledged, and any mistake on my side was treated as catastrophic. I would get long messages criticising my competence and framing minor issues as “a big miss”, creating an environment where I constantly felt anxious and undermined rather than supported or developed. I tried reaching out to her manager, to explain how unsupported I felt, only to be told “You need to think about whether this is the right place for you.” and “if you get upset cry in private because it's not a good look". All of this had a significant impact on my wellbeing, so a year in, I raised concerns with HR, but was told there was nothing they could do beyond offering “counselling” sessions between myself and my manager — rather than addressing the obvious and providing much-needed management training. Many of us have left and are much happier now, there are plenty of brands to work for that will make you feel supported, respected and motivated.

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Mint Velvet Response
1w
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that this was your experience and please be assured that we take all feedback seriously and will discuss your comments with the team. At the same time, we’re pleased that we were able to support you in your working relationship with your line manager through team coaching. Great team relationships are at the heart of our culture and we work hard to support these. We're proud to offer coaching to individuals and teams at all levels in our head office, alongside a broader development and wellbeing offer designed to support our high-performance teams. We wish you all the best for the future.
4.0
23 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Friendly people, welcoming and open atmosphere, lots of engagement and socialising during work, work event days, benefits for female employees.

Cons

Limited opportunity for progression, lack of benefits for male employees, some managers need more training.

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