A Disheartening Experience - Accounts Senior Saffery Employee Review

1.0
22 Mar 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I'll have a think about it...

Cons

Working at Saffery has been a disappointing and disheartening experience from start to finish. Despite its reputation as an accounting firm, my time there left me questioning their commitment to employee well-being and professional growth. First and foremost, the work culture at Saffery is toxic. The hierarchical structure fosters an environment where seniority is valued over merit, leading to favoritism and a lack of opportunities for those lower down the ladder. Ideas and suggestions from junior staff are often dismissed without consideration, creating a sense of demoralization and disillusionment. Furthermore, the workload is overwhelming and unrealistic. Despite promises of work-life balance during the recruitment process, the reality is far from it. Long hours are not only expected but also enforced, with little regard for the impact on employees' mental and physical health. Burnout is rampant, yet management seems indifferent to the well-being of their staff. Moreover, the lack of support and guidance is glaring. New employees are thrown into the deep end without adequate training or mentorship, leading to feelings of incompetence and frustration. Rather than investing in their employees' development, Saffery seems content to let them flounder and struggle on their own. Additionally, the compensation and benefits package is subpar compared to industry standards. Despite the demanding workload and high expectations, salaries are below average, and bonuses are few and far between. It's clear that Saffery prioritizes maximizing profits over rewarding its employees for their hard work and dedication. Overall, my experience working at Saffery has been profoundly negative. The toxic work culture, unrealistic workload, lack of support, and inadequate compensation make it a company I cannot in good conscience recommend to anyone seeking employment in the accounting industry. If you value your well-being and professional growth, steer clear of Saffery.

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Saffery Response
1y
Thank you for taking the time to write a review detailing your experience at Saffery. We’re very sorry to learn that you haven’t had the positive experience that we strive for. We take this type of feedback very seriously and we’re absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone gets opportunities to learn, to develop professionally and that they feel supported. Developing our people is a key priority; from early careers to experienced hires, we want our people to achieve their full potential, helping them take their careers where they want them to go, at a pace that suits them. If you are willing to discuss your experience, we would be happy to listen to your thoughts and suggestions of how we could improve further. Please do reach out to our talent management team on 07548 312953. As a firm, we pride ourselves on welcoming new joiners and ensuring that the onboarding process and comprehensive induction make everyone feel at home from day one. We have a wellbeing strategy, with wellbeing champions in each of our offices and a programme of initiatives to address any feelings or concerns around anxiety or burnout. We’ve also partnered with an external employee assistance programme for many years, proving confidential, emotional support to staff by specially trained counsellors. Recognising and rewarding individual contributions is very important, and we offer a flexible benefits & reward package that can be tailored for individuals and their circumstances. Our salaries are also benchmarked annually across all roles and in all the geographies we operate in. Overtime is offered but is always on a voluntary basis, and this is driven by individuals. We appreciate your candid feedback and would welcome a conversation if you did want to reach out to us, in confidence. Best wishes from our team and thank you for taking to time to leave this review.

Explore other reviews about Saffery

4.0
3 Apr 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- very friendly people - nice working atmosphere - management listens and acts on issues - opportunity for growth - flexible working hours - people worked there for 15/20/25 years

Cons

- more CPD trainings on qualified individuals

1.0
2 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The junior staff are nice

Cons

Very low pay, the bands havent moved in years. Lots of cost cutting measures being introduced, including making it really difficult to get paid for overtime but still expecting people to do the overtime and reducing the social budget. There's not enough desks for everyone in the office so on some days you have no choice but to wfh. No real benefits, pension contributions and annual leave are listed as benefits. IT infrastructure is very old and slow, crashing regularly and often IT will email everyone and make them log out of the software so they can reset it in the middle of the day! Lots of changes happening to reduce costs and lower level staff are being hit the worst. At first managers were scrambling to keep us informed but have given up with any communication at all as they have no idea whats going on! Huge changes are being posted in videos on the intranet from the board and the Managers are finding out the same time we are. There is no trust in the Managers from above and progression is much slower than at other firms, seniors are waiting years post qualification to be promoted to assistant manager. The culture is so negative and all trust has been broken, everyone complains and most people stay just to qualify and the people that do stay only stay because they cant find another job.

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