Does WHSmith pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, WHSmith employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at WHSmith. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at WHSmith?

49% of WHSmith employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated WHSmith 3.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.8 for culture and values and 2.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at WHSmith?

Sales Assistant (870) , Sales Associate (160) , Retail Assistant (85) , Retail Sales Assistant (76) , Customer Assistant (69) , Store Manager (61) , Team Leader (48) , Retail Sales Associate (47) , Customer Service (36) , Shop Assistant (36) , Customer Service Representative (30) , Supervisor (28) , Post Office Counter Clerk (23) , Store Assistant (23) , Manager (20)

What are the pros of working at WHSmith according to real employee reviews?

"Some colleagues are nice and helpful" ((in 160 reviews)); "Staff friendly and welcoming to me" ((in 151 reviews)); "People were nice and easy to get on with" ((in 144 reviews)); "Great culture and structure to the job." ((in 20 reviews)); "good working environment" ((in 19 reviews))

What are the cons of working at WHSmith according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay for working in an M&S cafe owned by WH Smith (£7.66/hour)." ((in 293 reviews)); "Short staffed because of poor management therefore you are expected to cover shifts with less than 12 hours notice" ((in 232 reviews)); "The manager was rude and hypocritical" ((in 92 reviews)); "Long hours and lack of support" ((in 77 reviews)); "Long shifts Understaffed Non existant training No way up underapreciated for the amount of work done." ((in 63 reviews))

WHSmith Reviews

3.2

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,507 total reviews)

Andrew Harrison

56% approve of CEO

42% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.4

Diversity and inclusion

3.0

Work/Life balance

2.8

Culture and values

2.7

Senior management

2.7

Career opportunities

2.6

Compensation and benefits

WHSmith has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 2,507 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The WHSmith employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail and wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews

1.0

27 May 2026

Is there anyone monitoring how the budget is used and the management works?

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Colleagues are friendly and helpful. Office location is good. Work life balance.

Cons

In this company, a top management could travel every month to Asia for meaningless meetings so many years which could be simply fulfilled by Teams meeting. Can anyone imagine how big the travel budget could be ? Wondered how big the budget should be used in this era or if this is just a selfish action? The serious bias view from the top management will also make offshore sourcing outside China never happen.

WHSmith Response

1w

Thank you for sharing your feedback and for the many years you spent with the business. We're pleased to hear that you valued your colleagues, our office location, and the work-life balance you experienced during your time with us. Creating a supportive working environment is important to us, and it's encouraging to know these aspects had a positive impact on your experience. We also appreciate your candid comments regarding management, communication, and the allocation of resources. We recognise the importance of ensuring that business decisions, including travel, staffing, and sourcing strategies, are regularly reviewed to support both our colleagues and the long-term success of the business. Feedback from current and former employees plays an important role in helping us identify opportunities for improvement. We are committed to fostering open communication and ensuring colleagues have channels through which they can share ideas, concerns, and feedback. Thank you again for taking the time to provide your perspective, and we wish you every success in the future.

3.0

28 Nov 2021

great

Sales assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

good work life balance is a pro

Cons

shift work can be a drag

1.0

13 Jul 2017

Dreadful and very shambolic

Sales assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Some excellent colleagues who worked hard

Cons

Management are an absolute joke and don't care about staff unless they can't turn up for a shift. The organisation and running of the place is very lacklustre. Don't expect any thanks or extra pay for doing them a favour it's all basically very much a case of it's your job to help. Management talk to you like you are a piece of dirt they have just picked up from their shoe. The company I don't know as a whole if it's like this but this branch in particular is an absolute mess. Don't worry if you think you might struggle as the job is very easy it's just Management who think it needs to be harder then it is. Don't expect career progression at all as this is non existent, qualification are worthless in this basically not fit for purpose working environment. Whilst I was working here I saw between 20-50 staff come and go. Frankly I was lucky to get out when I did as I could not have coped working any longer where you are undervalued and expected to go above and beyond for pay which as I say is dreadful and does not encourage job motivation or long term commitment to the company. Branch is Newcastle Airport

Viewing 1 - 3 of 2,507 Reviews

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Is there anyone monitoring how the budget is used and the management works?

great

Dreadful and very shambolic

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