Compass Group Reviews 

This review is directed to Restaurant Associates (HSBC/First Direct), Leeds branch.

I have never written a negative review about an employer in my life, but my experience at this establishment has left me feeling so unfairly treated that I believe people deserve to know what happened. What I experienced was one of the most toxic and disappointing workplace experiences I have ever had. It felt like a circus, and the way I was treated by the manager, Alex Metcalfe, particularly towards the end, was nothing short of shocking. I am still trying to understand whether what happened was personal animosity, prejudice, or something more systemic. Given how quickly the situation changed and how little opportunity I was given to defend myself, I cannot help but question whether race played a part in how I was treated.

My experience working at this establishment was deeply disappointing. Despite making a positive contribution to the team, supporting colleagues during a challenging three-month refurbishment period, and receiving positive feedback from colleagues and HSBC guests, my experience ended abruptly and in a way I felt was unfair and unprofessional.

My working relationship with the manager, Alex Metcalfe, changed noticeably after the head chef, Sharon, raised concerns about me. I felt that my side of the story was not properly heard and that I was criticised for how I prioritised tasks, despite trying to manage several responsibilities. Although I acknowledge that I made mistakes, I felt that the effort and additional hours I had put into supporting the restaurant were overlooked.

The most upsetting incident occurred when Alex shouted and swore at me in front of guests simply because I had sat down for five minutes. At the end of that shift, he cancelled my remaining shifts and told me he would not be offering me a full-time position, despite my having completed the vetting process and expecting a contract.

All ten of my confirmed agency shifts were cancelled, leaving me without work for two weeks. When I subsequently tried to contact Alex for an explanation, I discovered that he had blocked me. I found the lack of communication and opportunity to explain myself extremely disappointing, particularly given the effort I had invested in the role.

I cannot say definitively whether racial prejudice influenced how I was treated, but the sudden change in attitude, the lack of a fair opportunity to respond, and the way my contributions were disregarded left me questioning whether prejudice played a role.

I believe employees, including agency workers, deserve respect, clear communication and fair treatment. My experience left me feeling undervalued and deeply disappointed in the management and working environment. I would encourage anyone considering working here, particularly through an agency, to clarify how shifts, employment arrangements and communication with management are handled.

VENDING MACHINE SCAM.
You have vending machines at King's Mill hospital. Take one Lucozade sport bottle out. Charged me for 2 Oasis drinks.
What a complete SCAM.

I work for dine (compass) TDsynnex)
my boss was holiday cover came in didn’t give a crap about the kitchen
Also I have never used a till I have to ask customers what change to give because the till only tells me from £10 and the kitchen manager disappears and the other assistant is doing other things ie washing up or food prep I’m supposed to know everything I’ve only been there 3 months

Subject: Staged Perfection vs. Daily Neglect – White Oaks at Lawson House
When White Oaks took over the catering contract at Lawson House approximately 14 months ago, residents were promised fresh farm-to-table ingredients, locally sourced produce, and reliable, qualified staffing dedicated to providing proper nutrition for senior residents. The daily reality has been a stark, unacceptable failure to deliver on every single one of those promises.
The operational collapse over recent months highlights a complete breakdown in management and oversight:
Severe Staffing Shortages: In the past two months alone, there have been three separate occasions where no chef turned up at all. Kitchen assistants and unqualified staff are routinely left to cover hot meals or resort to making basic sandwiches, with on occasion, only one catering assistant in the kitchen to cater for 90 residents.
Zero Handover & Understocked Kitchens: Recently, an entire week was run solely by agency staff who were given no handover, had no idea how to operate the kitchen appliances, and were left without basic food stock to prepare meals.
Subpar Food Quality & Micro-Rationing: The promised "farm-fresh" food has been replaced by cheap, inferior ingredients. Portions are strictly micro-managed to the point that residents asking for simple additions—such as half a tomato—are flatly refused.
Fabricated Award Submissions: The absolute low point was a recent visit staged for the 2026 Foodservice Cateys awards. White Oaks brought in actors, tablecloths, wine, and a high-end menu that current residents have never once been served. To see a company shortlisted for an industry award based on a staged set-up—while 90 elderly residents in 75 flats endure daily neglect—is a disgrace to the sector.
Out of 90 residents, the overwhelming majority agree that the catering service at Lawson House is diabolical.
White Oaks is dragging the reputational standing of its parent company, Compass Group UK & Ireland, through the mud. It is time for Compass Group executive management to step in, investigate what is happening at Lawson House, and hold this division accountable before this contract is terminated. Senior residents deserve dignity, transparency, and basic, reliable nutrition—not marketing theatre.

I worked for Compass Group for two years, and after everything I experienced there, I can confidently say that this is one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a catering company.

The most ridiculous part? They still owe less than £100 in overtime to both me and a former colleague. We have been waiting for this payment since April. We were repeatedly told that the payment had been processed and that we would receive it, yet month after month, nothing happened.

We contacted the company multiple times. We were given promises, explanations, and assurances that the payment was being dealt with. And yet, we are STILL waiting for money we already earned.

It is honestly embarrassing that a company of this size cannot manage to pay employees for a few hours of overtime. We worked there for two years, did our jobs, worked hard, and the least we expected was to be paid correctly for the hours we worked.

What makes this even worse is the complete lack of communication and accountability. Once again, our emails have been ignored, and we have received neither the payment nor a proper explanation.

Compass Group, if you cannot even manage to pay your former employees less than £100 for overtime after months of promises, you seriously need to reconsider how you treat your staff.

This experience has completely changed my opinion of the company. I would absolutely not recommend working for Compass Group based on my experience.

One star is honestly more than this company deserves. If I could give zero stars, I would.

i worked for compass under their "upper end" brand name restaurant associates in London, at a law firm in Fleet street called freshfields. It was the biggest shitshow i had EVER seen, How any company would employ these cowboys under any of their pseudonyms ( chartwells etc.) is beyond me, they undercut the competition, and promise the earth, within a month the crap starts happening. be warned,

The only reason they have 1 star is that they don't have an option for zero stars. They are a scam company. I thought I was booking direct with the hotel, but the hotel would have charged £70 and Compass added £26 for NOTHING. Apart from having to contact the US for customer services.

Underhand manipulative company. No staff support. Sackable offences swept under the carpet. Don't ever work for them.

Applied for a part time job. Got called the next day with an offer of a full time job in a different place with hours that I couldn't commit to, due to childcare.
I was then told I would not be accepted for the part time job because I turned down the full time one. Seems a little discriminatory towards parents.
Hope your agency goes under, mugs. I won't apply for you lot again.

3 and a half years of wasted time as Catering Manager...No support provided, online training, and superior management below any criticism, discriminatory and arrogant.

Poor quality over prices food

Awful company, got bullied constantly from the get go not trained treated badly. one staff member was bullied out and i wasn’t long after. Haven’t been paid my final pay on time it’s like pulling teeth out to get answers, payslip says today they say monday. three days late… i’m not even sure i’ll get that pay at this point. All they care about is money not their staff or even paying their staff at this point. I cannot express enough how no one should work for this company. No numbers to contact nothing just in the dark. Awful company awful horrible management. *update i’m £300 down off my payslip apparently they we’re recalculating’ the figure. but the amount tha was on my payslip is what i usually get paid but now im £300 down without a new payslip to see where the £300 went???

Worst of the worst! Took my all the personal details and at the end told me that the job has expired. LOL!

The companies website is horrendous, and absolutely useless.

Cant even find a contact to help.

All help links just go round in a circle.

Very frustrating.

Let me be honest, this company Canteen /Cuisines dining deserves less than a zero! I've worked for them, the best advice I can give is: if you are considering employment with them DON'T, in fact run away!
This company doesn't care for integrity/ honesty , or anything that concerns good work ethics, I know personally that they frown on anyone who reports, fraud/ deception and wrong doings.,
I reported a few things to upper management about a corrupt manager, and guess what? I was the one that was treated badly!

Your so called cafe is joke no coffee machines both broken no pizzas no bacon the whole place is a joke poor staff have to work under those conditions disgusting management not here at all 😡😡😡😡😡😡

Terrible company
Bullying harassment discrimination from higher management aswell as csa put pressure on staff and managers no support no proper training toxic business avoid and I wouldn’t spend my money in their business go elsewhere. Ops manager gets away with terrible people skills so many grievance raised about her yet she still their,

I haven't worked with compass group but I have had multiple employment applications pending with them since 16/08/2025 , its now 23/12/2025 , they message every now & again to see if you're still interested & then ghost you completely in emails or pass you on to another person in a different department that never responds to your emails. I can't imagine how they would acquire the best possible staff for their contracts with this approach from management.

For my own safety and to prevent document falsification, I had to
write a review here. I am an employee of Сompass Group. At 10:47 a.m.,
I emailed Kaleb Clark asking for information: Christine is Clark's
manager and HR manager. Clark didn't respond for a long time, but then
wrote back asking why I needed these email addresses. Naturally, Kaleb
didn't give me the addresses. Today, at 12:10 pm I went to the Human
Resources department. The HR manager explained during my first days on
the job that I could contact them with any concerns I had. And since
there were plenty of them, I needed an email address to file a
complaint against Kaleb Clark. The same HR manager who offered
assistance in the HR department, he told me to contact Compass Group
and that he has nothing to do with Compass Group. At least five HR
managers heard this today. I went to my workplace.
Around 4 PM, Kaleb arrived at work. He was at his desk, constantly
making phone calls. About an hour later, Kaleb called me and handed me
the notes.
The notice was presented in the presence of a stranger, who, as it
later turned out, was NEW FLYER's HR manager. In front of this NEW
FLYER employee, Kaleb began lying about my mythical responsibilities.
I showed this NEW FLYER employee a message from Kaleb Clarke with my
responsibilities. This list had been compiled and sent by Kaleb. In
front of a NEW FLAYER employee, I asked Caleb if he'd falsified this
information after I'd asked for email addresses. Caleb responded that
he had no idea what I was talking about. I'm also attaching a
screenshot of the message to Caleb. Also, the employees listed in the
notices were not present during this conversation. However, my
complaints regarding the safety violation were voiced in the presence
of these two employees.
Because this information was falsified by Kaleb after I asked for
email addresses to report violations and discrimination based on
nationality to higher management from Kaleb Clark. Kaleb Clark thus
decided protect himself. I will attach the notices and all
correspondence to this letter and ask you to read them.
But that's not the worst part.
Everyone knows that Jeffrey, an employee, worked at the coffee shop.
He provided excellent customer service. He cooked delicious food and
always kept his work area clean and tidy. There were lines of people
waiting to see him.
After he left, two employees arrived. You'll see their names in the
notice. That's where it all started. Sanitary regulations were
violated. These employees were cleaning tables and equipment with
dirty rags, without using soap or sanitizer. Caleb Clark was notified
of this.
Temperature controls weren't met during food preparation. A customer
complained once, and the employee didn't apologize or replace the
defective food. The next incident happened yesterday. Photos were sent
to Kaleb Clark.
The employees do not wash their hands.
Employees repeatedly dropped food items on the floor, picked them up,
and cooked with them. Kaleb Clark was notified of this.
The employees repeatedly shied away from their duties, blaming me.
Kaleb Clark was informed of this.
The employees handled food with their hands, without gloves.
We recently had Christmas dinner. These two employees were the ones
preparing the food for this dinner. The potatoes had been filled with
water by these employees to increase the volume. The carrots had been
boiled in dirty water after the potatoes. Naturally, I was shocked and
made some comments to these employees. But they didn't care and
laughed. I told them
I told them I'd send a complaint to the main office, which they also
found very funny. And remember the cut cake that one of the employees
dropped but was still served on the staff table. The cake was melted,
which could have caused food poisoning. This was also sent to Kaleb
Clark. After dinner, the cake was thrown in the trash by the same
employees. For some reason, these employees didn't want to take some
of the cake and share it with their friends and family.
This is how Kaleb Clark avoids responsibility and falsifies
information. Compass Group also fails to pay full wages, overtime, and
holidays. But this information will be forwarded to other authorities.
Please pay attention to the following information. On December 18th, I
didn't arrive at work until 4:38 pm. Due to weather conditions, it was
impossible to get to work by 12:30 pm, even though Caleb Clarke had
told me to wait for the bus or walk to work. I want to remind everyone
that it was below -20 degrees Celsius, there was a snowstorm, and the
roads weren't cleared.
Caleb allowed one of the employees listed in the notice to skip work
yesterday. This confirms discrimination based on nationality.

Morecambe Asda cafe is a shambles poor quality food very small portions very disinterested staff none available too have a chat