Pros
Flexible hours, lovely working staff.
Cons
> Woeful pay > Blatant disregard for employees' safety > Endemic incompetence I worked at Socotec UK at the Bretby site for several months. Although the working staff were some of the most wonderful people I've ever met, the company culture and the low-level management were awful. Despite the facility being scientific in nature, handling potentially hazardous compounds such as fine airborne dust, asbestos and ionizing radiations, little to no safety measures were put in place for the protection of the staff. Although mandated in most buildings, the wearing of lab coats was not considered a necessity in the building I found myself placed in, which led to several horror-stories including a young lady spilling a highly corrosive acid on her arm and requiring surgery. Additionally, during my time at the facility another employee was handling samples of asbestos tiling, and needed to reduce the samples down to a smaller size for weighing. As she had not been informed of the nature of the substance through adequate paperwork or training, she proceeded to break apart a sample which resulted in most of the building being evacuated and a specialist being called in to assess airborne contamination. Many samples required to undergo radiological analysis are usually well below concerning levels at the site, however this does not excuse the complete lack of sufficient training and safety precautions to prevent contamination. Whilst handling samples due for this procedure, I was given negligible briefing and inadequate equipment for dose assessment. During an 'Ionising Radiation Safety Course', the lecturer demonstrated vastly insufficient knowledge of radiation physics and made several factual errors which although not likely to constitute a safety risk in this context, remain inexcusable for a so-called 'expert'. Notably, I personally received and manually processed many samples from the Sellafield nuclear site with zero forewarning or additional safeguards in place to protect my health, relying on my own knowledge and expertise to protect me. Fume cupboards provided for employees handling fine-ground powders are wholly insufficient because they are FUME cupboards, designed specifically to filter chemical vapours and NOT particulate matter. After working on 'Advanced Dried & Ground (ADG)' samples for several weeks I suffered a perpetual sore throat and frequent nosebleeds. Unconcerned with my wellbeing, my manager simply offered disposable 3M dust masks which were in constant short supply. Add in loose electrical wires and you have an exceedingly dangerous place to work. In addition, management attitudes were authoritarian and sycophantic. Staff frequently had perks specified in their contract stripped away and there exists a culture of 'making up time' for late arrivals or absences. Although I do not wholly disagree with this, there have been instances of employees needing to leave work immediately for (unrelated) hospital appointments; whilst many companies would not expect this time to be owed back by the employee, Socotec requires this time to be worked in lieu which is a shocking approach to employee wellbeing. Managers subscribed to a self-serving, careerist attitude and displayed zero empathy towards employees' welfare, working conditions or job satisfaction. As a now professional scientist, I urge any prospective employees to avoid Socotec UK at all costs. Apply for 3M, ThermoFisher, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer or any others, just not this shocking excuse for a private company.
