Vantaggi
LGC is a broad company, with divisions covering Standards, Genomics, Assurance testing and research funding with the NIHR. Lots of career routes are open to you. Annual bonus, further salary-sacrifice schemes are available to setup once per year. Management and communication has improved significantly in the last few years.
Svantaggi
Breadth of roles doesn't equal horizontal movement within the company. Although roles are well-defined, they are narrow in scope and the route to the next promotion is not often clear and in some circumstances you'd need to wait for others to leave their roles in order to move up to the next step. A development plan is on the way, but moving from one department to another appears rare still. Turnover of staff is higher in some divisions compared to others. Annual profit estimates are a long way off a realistic achievable goal, and with the annual bonus tied to this it is incredibly difficult to get. The bonus scheme has shifted over the years from monthly, to quarterly, then bi-annually, and finally annually but linked to the division's profit margin. Exceptional staff may not see an annual appraisal reward despite their individual efforts. Pay is often not spoken about, but pay bands appear to be very weakly enforced and new staff can end up on a lot more than their experienced colleagues who are also being paid less to train the new member up, not good for morale.