Halfords!

Catherine_89

Hi, does anybody know anything about working at Halfords e.g. interview, training, uniform, pay?
Thanks,
Catherine xx

Reply 1

Montrose

I was speaking to someone I work with yesterday, and he did not speak too kindly of Halfords. He was a full timer and was involved with repairing cars so perhaps more than you would be doing, but he said there was little training. When changing a car battery, he was shown quickly how to do it once and then left to it. He also said there was little training about the products, which may be more relevant to you. Uniform they provide for you.

Reply 2

Sync

Bump. I'd also be interested in the pay you receive in Halfords.

Reply 3

Montrose

Just done a quick bit of research and found two things. This year, they re-introduced a 'junior rate', so under-18s start off on £4.20 an hour. There was also a report saying that in April, they gave all staff under the minimum wage a 2.5% increase so that they were inline with the new minimum wage. I imagine that is for over 21s as their minimum wage is a lot higher. Either way, you're not going to be on mega bucks as a general shop assistant.

Reply 4

space_aura

Catherine_89

Hi, does anybody know anything about working at Halfords e.g. interview, training, uniform, pay?
Thanks,
Catherine xx

if part time like me:
interview=easy...just be sensible and say u like motorsport etc
uniform= i'm still on the old school polo but fitters get better snazzy ones.
pay= £5.05 per hour.i get that and am 18.
under that it is 4.33 or somewhere around that region.

i like working there---pleasant staff...can get a bit hectic though!

Reply 5

Catherine_89

Does any body know if Halfords mainly employs men due to the nature of the job? If anybody works at Halfords, are there any women who work there?
Thanks
Catherine

Reply 6

Montrose

There are women working in our Halfords. And they cannot discriminate and 'choose' men, as that is illegal, so don't let it put you off.

Reply 7

BiscuitFuelled

Halfords are an unfathomable bunch of cretins.

I worked for them part time as my first ever job, and I ended up as the only person in the store (other than one of the supervisors) with any real knowledge of pushbike mechanics beyond basic assembly - and I only worked one day a week. The people I had to deal with were absolute pricks, and I found it hard to get enthusiastic about selling crap bikes to people. The only good part of the job were the other guys that I worked with.

I never got a uniform, as they never bothered to order me one - I wore whatever I wanted to work.

Honestly, I couldn't recommend working for them.

Reply 8

Konopat

Hey I work for halfords...The staff are great, some of the best people you will meet...but that's it...I'm currently in the process of looking for another job as I hate it.

Reply 9

Bek_x

I love my halfords job :smile:

It makes me very happy. I asked the manager for training, he gave me overtime shadowing the sales manager and is putting me forward for formal car seat training. There is so much to learn! Everytime I go in I learn how to do something new or learn something new about a product. It's all about what you're willing to put in. I ask questions, my questions get answered, I show enthusiasm and they love it; if you stand there moaning that no one is training you so you dislike your job, they're not going to train you.

I love Halfords as a company tbf, I think if you have the right attitude you can get a lot out of it; there is so much room to grow. Off to uni in September and my manager is going to help me transfer to another store; they really do look after you.

The way I talk about it, my Mom thinks I'll be in the job forever, lol.

My colleagues are amazing too, I can honestly say that I feel like we're all a big family. We send birthday cards to each other, arrange a night out every month, go out of our way to speak to each other if we pass on the street or w/e.

In regards to pay, I'm on £5.23 an hour, and I'm 20. Our store did well last year so everyone in the store got a bonus.

Uniform is provided, but if you lose your tshirt or name badge, you do have to pay for a replacement.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 10

Bek_x

And I'm not the big butch mechanic type either, I'm a tiny girl with who wears bows to work and skips around like a pixie lol. So don't be scared off applying if you're a girl...

Reply 11

Cameronwilliams

Ignore everyone saying that Halfords is a rubbish company. I have worked for Halfords for 4 years part time on the bike department and really enjoy working there. The other people have obviously have just been to a poor store however in all the 4 stores i have worked in i have been given as much training as i like to do when i want. In my experience the staff are generally very knowledgable and there will always be someone in store that can help. Anyone that cant help is usually very new and in the process of being trained which can only be expected. Don't be put off working there if you are a girl, there is no favourability towards men and everyone is treated equally.

As a company to work for it is fantastic. Its not the easiest job and can get very hard around holiday times such as christmas, especially for the bikes. I am 20 and on £5.55 an hour which isn't amazing but is still okay, one complaint i do have about halfords is that we do not get paid any extra for working on sundays or holidays such as boxing day! I am also at uni and switch between my home store and uni store in the holidays which is great as i always have work wherever i go, as well as having fairly flexible hours and lots of opportunity for overtime! We're constantly being trained throughout the year for many different things and you also get full training at the beginning. Depending on the department you will probably be trained differently. Parts staff usually get trained by shadowing a senior member of staff for a few days whilst learning about each of the products from them. Uniform is all provided for you, a couple of polo tops, trousers and a fleece which is all actually very comfortable, and i have never had to pay for any more uniform or badges.

I hope this helps some people, i would highly recommend working there, especially as a student.

Cameron

Reply 12

xrsamxr

I think working for Halfords is ok. Reading through this I have realised that my store is fairly poor, I have been on bike hut for nearly 3 years and I still haven't been PDI trained. As a keen cyclist and home mechanic I can build and repair bikes well, which is probably why they have never bothered to give me training, despite asking at least once a month for the past 2 years and only ever being told that "training will happen soon". Our management kinda sucks, but the people I work with are all (except a few) amazing which really does make working there bearable. I'm currently on £5.66 but that's going up to £6.16 with the gears completion which is good as I'm only 18.

A lot of the people you serve will, for no real reason hate halfords and will just be complete d***s but you do get the occasional nice customer which makes working there a joy!

The bikes are mostly awful, but then you can get a rigid MTB for the price a lot of people would pay for a rear derailleur which makes it pretty good value for money and difficult to argue with but at the end of the day it's still an awful bike.

So yeah, I think it very much depends on what store you work at, but overal it's probably no different to most retail shops, just a lot more interesting imo :smile:

Reply 13

Kckc12

Hi does anyone know what the minimum age is to get a Job there??