written by SidsM80 on 03/03/2022
Never use Reed. Although your wages come through an umbrella company they use, in practice you are their employee. But in terms of pay or complaints the two people I dealt with (one being in the customer experience team) they constantly shift the blame to the organisation you are placed with. They have more excuses than a politician of why they can’t do something, or why they didn’t get back to you, or why it’s not their fault. They forget they take their regular cut, but do diddly squat to help their slaves, because metaphorically at least, that’s what you are. Whilst they do nothing, and get paid, you also get nothing from them.
written by Maren200 on 29/09/2016
Went for an interview organised by their Glasgow office. Typical agency style full of enthusiasm and constant communication and effort up until the interview. If your not successful you get instant cold treatment. It's extremely difficult to get any real honest and constructive feedback. If you have been successful they avoid your calls. They ignore and hope you'll go away whilst they focus their efforts on the successful candidate. It's very poor! Ok people apply for jobs for their own benefit but if your shortlisted and attend for interview you are a potential fee earner for them that is until you don't get the job and suddenly your a nuisance for asking for an update. They do t update you after interview and you have to follow up with them. Their feedback is non existent comes down to a few words ... Your were just pipped to the post. Seriously bad customer service
written by Mattingly389 on 06/05/2016
I was called by a member of Reed, impressed with my CV online and invited me into the office. I have an enormous amount of experience in my line of work and my CV is impressive. Went along, filled out huge amount of documents, copied my ID, competency questions - all taking two hours. Wanted references for every place I had worked at in the last ten years. I have worked a lot of agencies, as a lot of places are just temporary slots for one placement. This amounted to eleven references. I had only just got out of the door when I was phoned to say my application had not been successful and that they had received negative feedback. I asked to speak to the manager and pressed her as to who would give the negative feedback and she said she was not at liberty to say. She was angry that there was eleven references to go after, said it looked really bad and asked if I had not thought of stopping with one agency. I said I had to because one agency could not produce enough work. She had not had negative feedback as she did not have time to phone around these people, so she had just made that up to make me feel worthless. Avoid this agency at all costs!!!!!!
written by 440Connell on 18/12/2015
We have been dealing with a number of recruitment firms in different sectors. We were approached by Reed to appoint new staff. We are a growing company who understand the commercial value a good recruitment agency can bring. However we will never work with Reed again. Phenomenally short sighted in their approach and do not value the customer relationship. Trip you up over contractual obligations and threaten you with legal action and £20 000 fines should you not comply. We have severed our relationship with Reed. They get involved on sectors they know nothing about and missmanage candidates. Still to office temps - honestly that is all you are good for and leave other sectors to dedicated firms who are aligned with the needs of the business.
written by Reeves180 on 22/09/2015
Recently attended an interview for Christmas casual position-interviewed by Reed Global. Instantly felt out of place, there was one other interviewee besides me, yet he was called out warmly and for some reason, I was barked at. Both I and the other interviewee were taken to another room to fill out forms/provide documents as proof of right to work- I'm not complaining that no one helped me fill out the forms, more the fact that he was offered help like Kindergarten whilst I was told to 'do it myself, again in a threatening tone. Shortly after, another interviewee arrived and started filling forms-yet again she acted very inviting, offering to help if needed. The only conclusion I can come to is she must really like guys, other than that maybe...her insecurity acted up. The interviewer was over her prime-she was extremely ecstatic whenever she was talking to either one of the guys. Overall found the experience quite overbearing, it just felt like I shouldn't be there- whether it was because I don't look English enough, not being male, I don't know. By the way the other two candidates were said to be not British, yet I am? All I can say the interview would have been a better experience if the interviewer was more open minded, and not be stuck back in the ages- yes it is an interview, not an interrogation.
written by lydiajade95 on 13/04/2015
I have been with Reed for nearly a full year now and have found their service has been more than excellet! I have being dealing with the Reed team in Leeds and they have helped come such a long way in Term's of my career. The person I dealt with found me a job with fantastic salary and that give me so many new skills for my furture job, and also another person has found me a permerment job at Manheim which i am currently working at now and love every minute of it! I would advise anyone to go through Reed in terms of a career path!
written by Berry183 on 19/03/2015
I had a phone call (10 am) yesterday morning from some one at reed about a job working in a joinery work shop as I am a qualified carpenter and joiner. I asked how long the work is for and were told that this company are very busy and likely to be a good run of work. The agent told me to bring 'hand tools' which in my books does not include chord less power tools, which I later found out should have been apart of my hand tools. The agent should have told me to bring chord less power tools and hand tools. Any way, I worked until 8pm that night. Went into work today at 7am and came home at 8pm. All is well as I think the work is good and I'm getting on well there. I get home to check e-mails and have received an E-mail at 16.40 from agent saying I am no longer required. Why on earth did he email me while I'm flippin working after he had corresponded with me via text yesterday!? Now all my tools and safety boots are still at this company so now I have to go there tomorrow to pick up my tools and go back home! Had he had text me I could have taken my tools home tonight. I am fuming about this! Some thing very fishy is going on as the company said they were going to set me up to clock in and out of there system. Now the company nor the agent have a record of my hours. If I do not get paid every single penny that I have earned. Never use Reed!!
written by Hessuc273 on 12/12/2014
Went to Reed to find a job locally to me. I told her I wanted a receptionist/admin post. She gave me a withering look and told me most of these posts are given internally and companies won't pay Reed to find people to fill these types of posts. After telling her I don't have a CV, she then asked me to send my CV in to her. She never took my name or asked for any details about me. She obviously couldn't be bothered to help a 58 yr old lady with years of experience including working in a recruitment agency, as she probably thought I was a lost cause. I was in the room about 3 mins and came out utterly deflated. Never go to to a recruitment agency unless you are about 20 yrs old with a degree and with no working experience. An utter disgrace to the recruitment world. Ageism abound in this place.
written by on 16/01/2014
You need to run after them constantly to do anything and they are rude, rude and rude! They have this attitude like you must be so priveleged to work for them and they are dishonest and incompetant. They do not pay you on time and never call you back if you have a problem. avoid this agency.
Written on: 08/04/2014
terrible recruitment agency! I worked one day through them which is now 5 weeks ago. They promised me payment would be processed that Friday - yet 5 weeks later, despite calling them (never picking up, or telling me the person I dealt with is not in the office), the many emails I sent them: nothing! I realise it is only 1 day, but it is the principle. It's the most unprofessional company I ever had dealings with.
I also have the feeling that the whole thing about inviting me to their offices to register nearly every single personal detail about me is really a way of obtaining personal information on people. Because, since that moment on, I have not been able to reach them. They are like glorified car sales people. I am taking my case to Trading Standards. This is not a recruitment company, it is a sales office - nothing more.
written by Montsy on 07/01/2014
I have been applying for a number of "Reed" jobs in the past 3 months, always for jobs in which my profile fits perfectly. I am a Spanish national, with a University degree in Marketing, with extended experience in Accounts and Customer Services and have a Proficiency Certificate in English language by the British Council. My software skills are: Windows suite, Office, Word, Excel, Access, VM, Lotus Notes, SAP, Master ASP, PCF and SAGE. I have a UK NI number, drivers license, own transport and loads of referees. I am currently in Exeter, but I am ready to relocate immediately when offered the right job and I always state the relocation ability in my Cover Letters. Today I got one of those "unfortunately in this occasion" emails from a guy, a Permanents Consultant at the Bath office regarding the position Account Coordinator (Spanish / English) and I called him to get some feedback. I wanted to know the reason why he didn´t forward my CV to the employer. His answer was that I live in Exeter and the position is based in Bath!!!! And then I asked him if he read my Cover Letter and the relocation bit. He answered that there were over 20 applicants who live in Bath, all of them speaking native Spanish and with a sound career as Account Coordinator (Spanish / English)!!!!!! What a cheek!!!! I am very upset by the behaviour of this feller. Why should he discriminate my CV if I want to relocate? Why is a lier with no scruples playing God instead of admitting he failed to read my Cover Letter? Why we job seekers have to swallow all their rubbish? Why cannot we expose all those useless pretenders? They live from us, don´t they? After all, if we would not apply for jobs and provide them with our details to play or trade with, they´ll be jobless, will they not? I do generalise about "Consultants" because the majority seem to be clones of one another.
written by on 17/11/2013
I highly recommend reed to all those seeking employment. In particular a member of the team, Karen Lees, in the London Wimbledon office. Karen was not only exceptionally helpful in seeking out employment for myself, but also very friendly and approachable. I thank her and all of the reed team for their constant efforts and friendly, effective service.
written by neil51sqdn on 22/07/2013
Contacted Reed initially about a vacancy that I had seen advertised online, without even seeing my CV I was told by a bloke in their office that I couldn't do the job bcos I didn't have a certain qualification that they wanted to work with children in a care home environment . There was no mention of this in the job spec when i read it . After a brief chat with this Numpty, I mean bloke he said they had a contract starting with Edinburgh council in November 2012 , I went in for an interview with Reed and was told contract was starting soon, November came and went so i phoned reed, they spoke about Edinburgh council not being able to start the contract and it would be December before they we're ready to take me n, then it became January then it was Feb and in March I got a phone call asking me to attend some training with Edinburgh council, I was told that I'd be payed for this but found that would be difficult as reed had never taken my bank details from me. So I attended the training oh,and before going to the training I only phoned reed nearly every day for about 6 or 7 working days prior to the training just to get an email sent to me with the address of the training venue, on atleast 5 occasions I asked a woman called Vicky who worked in the Edinburgh office to email me the time and location of the venue, each time I spoke with her she said she would do it straight away and ver hned, I fg ithe morning of the day of the training and wasnearly late for it bcos of their incompetence. I never got payed for the training and I'm still waiting to this day , then the crtinhe cheekto add my phne number to their data base which I never gave them permission for and keep getting txt for all sorts of,pathetic shifts at care homes in Edinburgh, at no time did i ever say to them I would ever work in a care home . 2 members of their staff that i dealt with inparticular, were the most incompetent cretinous people I have ever had the misfortune to deal with . I am ex military and all I can say is that if these 2 ppl had ever worked with me they would have had their backsides kicked but they would never have got into the Airforce in the first place. Monkeys could do a better job.
written by SomethingWillTurnUp on 07/01/2013
I have applied for many jobs through Reed over the last few months, all with a tailored cover letter and CV (according to "expert" advice) and matching my experience and skills. I either get no response or a standard message saying other candidates were a better fit. However, I do get emails and texts from Reed on a regular basis attaching a job description they say I am "perfect" for, interviews available immediately. However, these are completely irrelevant - completely different qualifications and experience, different industry etc. The only thing I have in common with the job is that I live in the UK!
Written on: 11/03/2013
Yes, I agree.
They are pretty bad.
I recommend you to bypass recruitment agencies anyway as they are only interested in helping people with great inflated resumes.
Many people with talent are missing out every time.
written by Designguy on 14/08/2012
I have applied for several jobs with reed and find them completely useless. The women in charge of design jobs doesn't know anything about design yet still sits and talks down to you like your an idiot. I applied for 1 job in marketing design and spoke to a reed rep on the phone who asked me if i had any experience with design and when i said yes she didn't believe me and gave me the skeptical voice and said she would give it some consideration whether i was right for the job. I've been in design for 20 years and she had a copy of my CV. I got a call back from her and she said in a very threatening tone, "After our conversation earlier today I've decided not to put your CV forward and this will be noted on your record with us". If i had said anything rude or with an attitude i would understand but for the entire conversation i only said "Yes i do" and "Ok then, bye!". Also i should add that since that phone call i applied for at least 15 other jobs listed on there website and never got any calls from them so i suspect she blacklisted me on the reed system. Eventually i applied for 1 position on the Reed website but also sent my CV to the employer directly and the employer offered me the job a few days later. I asked the office admin and my CV was never sent to this company by Reed.
written by on 06/07/2012
Only applied for a temp job through a friend (who unfortunetly for her) works for reed, albeit,the wage was good etc, finished the terms of the contract and was asked to stay couple of extra days out of my own back i decided why not. midway through the day, get an unfair dismissal for the absolute MOST ridiculous thing ever(if i actually wrote it people would laugh) and termination of contract, after 2 weeks you would expect atleast a warning etc or dismissal for a SERIOUS offence, but no warning - no qualms to me as i finish a day earlier then i was expected anyway. Would not recommend to anybody, i have seen plenty of jobs first hand that are out dated and still up, appalling response time from representatives, ive been advised first hand that there are pressures of working there and its about figures and targets (absolutely ridiculous) - which means they do not care for genuine individuals looking for work. Got a call from a manager at Reed and surprise surprise couldnt handle a simple little debate about the termination, she got offended and hence 'blacklisted' me from reed representation, she thought she had some authority over me - no chance. Doesnt effect me as i dont believe Reed were worth the hassle anyway and wouldnt expect a response from applications in my field anyway. would definitely not recommend.
written by on 22/05/2012
t first the representative was always ringing me and I felt this was good as they wanted to help me find work. The rep then said she had put my CV forward to ARAG the insurance company as she felt my cv was strong enough. Sure enough a day or 2 after this conversation I had another phone call to say that I had been short listed for an interview. This is where it gets interesting. I received an email to confirm my interview date and also an invitation to meet my rep to discuss the vacancy and to get registered with the reed system. all pretty standard stuff. I received a phone call the day before the interview to make sure I was attending ( commission hunger starting to show). followed by an email to stress how hard they had worked to get me my interview- again Commission driven beast rearing its ugly head!) I attended my interview and was told by Arag that I would hear feedback either way by the end of the week. I waited until the end of the week but I heard nothing- so I gave reed the benefit of the doubt and waited until Monday. I called Laura my Rep on the number she gave me on her "professional business card" she handed to me at our meeting- however no answer. So again giving her the benefit of the doubt I e-mailed her so ask if she had any feedback for me. she almost instantly emailed me back to say she was meeting with my interviewer that afternoon and would have feed back for me shortly. TWO WEEKS LATER after some quite stressful chasing of my rep I still had not received my feedback. I feel the way I was snubbed by reed global was truly disgusting. I made effort to attend this interview and I feel that I deserved to get the feedback to improve my interview techniques. also noticed on Reed.co.uk website that they make up jobs to fill the site and make it look amazing. and also they decide if they want you to put you forward for the interview that you express interest in. which is very unfair. if I want to apply for a job I don't want some snotty little cow in a suit telling me I'm not allowed. my advice would be to not even contact reed. they are just a commission hungry monster who claim to care....but they only care about the money! personally if I worked for reed and treated people in that way I would struggle to sleep at night.
written by jessicaantony29 on 27/02/2012
Getting a job is quite a feat, especially in today’s competitive scenario. Someone recommend the Reed job agency to me. I never got the job I wanted. They kept me waiting for a long time. They were very unprofessional and annoying.
written by on 27/07/2011
I was contacted by a lady via text message asking to call following a role I had expressed an interest in. I called her and she was on vacation. The receptionists had very little training and poor customer service skills. No messages were passed on. When i finally did speak to her - it was very clear that she was no a senior level recruiter. There was a lack of professionalism and no understanding of the client needs. She was also very ill advised about my CV despite having read it. I would avoid Reed at all costs. They are unprofessional and lack the very basic skills. I would not wish them to represent me in any way to potential clients.
written by on 22/07/2011
I was telephoned by a woman on behalf of reed recruitment in regards to a one off job which i did on Saturday 9th July. The woman said I'd be paid £6.00 an hour plus £1.25 on top to cover holiday pay what ever that's for? also i would be working for 4 hours in total distributing leaflets. I asked Lizzy when i would receive my pay and she said i would receive it the following Friday which would make it the 15th July, So i said OK ill do it. After a few issues and running around trying to find documentation to confirm i am a UK citizen and my identity etc, things were rolling or so i thought. I was asked to also confirm on the following Monday that i had completed the job which i did, Then when i asked her again when I'd be paid she then said it would be the following Friday so i said don't you mean this Friday? Then she said no it will be next Friday 22.7.2011. Leaving it at that presuming it was my error i waited till this Wednesday and thought i would give them a call in regards to my payslip as usually you receive one before you get paid. All the woman said was that they usually post them, so i said would it be possible to email me it instead and she said that would be fine and I'd receive it the same day as my payment Today. Well this morning i was not happy when i checked my account as i feel Ive been fobbed off! I had received in total £19.12 which is definitely not correct because 4x£7.25 =£29. I gave them another call and said that i have only received 19.12 and they said its because they haven't payed the holiday pay into my account yet. But to my knowledge it still doesn't add up its not even the minimum wage x4, Well anyway Ive given them the benefit of the doubt and if i don't receive anything next Friday I will most definately not be working for them again time wasters! Also i've still not even been given my payslip. I suppose you coul'd say i'm £20 better off but its still not the point, If i was you i'd save your self the hassle and stay clear of reed recruitors.
written by Simon87 on 22/07/2011
I started with Reed in 2008 while having another part time job and being in full time education at University. The Temp Operator told me that I could go on a student tax code as I was still in University and as I had another part time job. After a few weeks I discovered myself and a colleague were on a lot less pay than the rest of the temp colleagues in the same company. After many phonecalls and many months this was resolved. Then in 2010 I went travelling to Australia, I checked with my employer and they would hold a position open for me. However, Reed deleted my account, my information and all of my previous time sheets! NOT ONLY THIS! but Inland Revenue rang (while I was away) claiming I have been on the incorrect tax code for the last 2 years and owed over £1500! And that the Reed Operator had lied and there is no such thing as a student tax code. I am now dealing with another operator and she is just as useless! Whenever I ring she is always in a meeting, on her dinner break or away from her desk! They are false and patronising on the telephone and could not care less about your issues. My employers have recently changed companies and we have been taken across to the new company. We were advised to inform our agencies (which we did 3 months prior to the change over) she had not sorted anything and when my supervisor rang up to add on a shift to my time sheet she accused us BOTH of lieing and would not authorise my timesheet. Then went on to lie to her manager that she had not spoken to us! I am very angry with the way I have been treated and cannot wait to get a full time job and leave Reed behind! THEY ARE USELESS AND RUDE.
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Dannypetrovici's Comment
Written on: 12/11/2016
did you asking a job in NASA?