Pros
None whatsoever. Unless you count the £11 dividend payment as a pro.
Cons
Where to begin... 1. Unwilling to pay market rate but expected to work ludicrous hours and essentially devote your whole existence to the firm (frowned upon if you dare to have a life and/or other responsibilities). 2. No recruitment strategy, beyond - who is the cheapest? They are losing staff hand over fist but do not seem to recognise that THEY are the common denominator. To subvert the famous phrase... "it's not me, it's you!". 3. Women returning to work part-time after having children and either being demoted or constructively dismissed by blocking career progression and passing quality work to full-time male employees. Male team members being applauded for working insane hours and pretending like their newborn children don't exist. Talented people sitting in exit interviews saying that they are leaving because of poor maternity pay and conditions for working parents but still a complete refusal to address the issue. Mainly due to the dinosaurs at the top still assuming that women don't have key financial contributions to make in their own homes. 4. An entirely impotent HR team who, whilst well-meaning, are ignored by senior management and left to clear up the upshot of their, frankly, tribunal-worthy, behaviour). 5. Partners are completely unaccountable for their actions and lack of performance in winning new work. They continually blame and bully the staff for the poor performance of the firm whilst failing to provide adequate training, structure, or incentives and continuing to make inexplicable business decisions - building their own CRM instead of buying it off the shelf to "give 'insert partner's name here' something to do" at a seven-figure cost (presumably also useful in covering up the fact that said partner is demonstrably unable to win any new work), buying a giant office in Norwich that they only fill to 50% capacity and having no idea what they want to do with the extra space, buying tiny compliance-based businesses in the middle of nowhere with non-comparable client bases and revenue streams in the wake of automation that will see most of those clients disappear within the next two years. 6. More on partners - save for one or two, they are the most toxic, egotistical, chauvinistic, backward-looking, bunch of narcissists I have ever encountered. Constant in-fighting, they are completely indiscreet in their disdain for one another (I was regularly privy to what they all thought of each other - clue: it wasn't positive). The most unprofessional culture I have ever worked in. 7. Even more on partners, they seem to fall into two categories - good at work-winning, but so wrapped up in their own ego/financial rewards that they have no concept whatsoever about how to manage a team, OR entirely ineffective, with the grass roots staff wondering how on earth they were made partner in the first place (clue: nepotism, favouritism, and a desire to promote someone who isn't quite as good as the other partners think they are so that they won't be shown up or overtaken in the race for who is top dog. *rolls eyes*). 8. The MD seems hell bent on bolstering the balance sheet of the firm, presumably so he can clean up in a takeover in due course. Unfortunately, the havoc he has created by buying these utterly pointless small businesses (£100 tax returns - yay!) has left most people baffled and wondering why they should have to put up with a pay freeze year on year (quote from senior partner "pay reviews are based on merit, we do not issue pay increases as standard" - try telling that to your managers who have just put in 70 hours a week throughout the busy season. Not even a goodwill £500!) whilst the management team drive ever bigger cars to their ever bigger houses. Looking at the financial performance of the firm since this MD took over, it's a wonder he is still in the job. Plays on being the affable BFG-type, but I've seen the red mist descend and he is to be avoided. Accepting a role at Price Bailey was the worst career move I have ever made; a point proven during my notice period, when I was at best ignored, at worst accused of mistakes that I hadn't made in an attempt to discredit me. I am now at a new firm who have reminded me of what it's like to work as a team, with decent people who have a common goal,and the ability not to take themselves so flipping seriously. I now have time to eat breakfast in the morning, go to the gym , see my other half in the evenings, and generally sleep well at night without the constant PB-induced feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. Life is good!