Richmond Pharmacology FAQ

Pros

by very nature of being able to tolerate the place, you are likely to be promoted very quickly as so many doctors leave. the higher positions are burdened with stress however do give a good exposure to many aspects of the pharma industry. I personally could not stomach all the awful things there to get to this position.

Cons

Richmond pharmacology is a company where intimidation is endemic, fear of sacking is weaponised, and employees are as expendable as their faux principles of ethical research. Sadly every review on here echoes my experience of this company. The hostility which is entrenched in the culture stems directly from the malignant leadership and is a pervasive atmosphere that is felt as soon as one arrives. In my first few months of working at Richmond 6 peers left. It is an environment where covid policies are conflicting, some completely over zealous and some overly lax , meaning the functioning of the place is a paradox of often mindless procedures and endless paperwork, that leaves staff bemused and baffled. Example- no basins for hand washing in clinical areas where bloods are taken and patients are examined and urine is handled, not enough chairs or desks for staff so they are forced to loiter under the guise of social distancing but hindering the execution of their job. Volunteers with covid encouraged to travel during lockdown to the unit for a fee to calibrate testing machines, but then not kept away from other volunteers attending for trials, or kept away from staff. It is shocking that management are surprised at the high staff turnover and recruitment issues, there is no employee loyalty because employees are not invested in. There is no sick pay, no maternity pay and contracts which are both incredibly loose and binding, all in favour of the company and not the employee. Other market competitors are different. Benefits of the job; very good pay for mind numbingly dull paper pushing, excellent location, nice biscuits. Cons- inumerable. Unfortunately the bad apples at the top of the company never change and so these issues have been present since the company’s establishment. Not a place to start your pharma career if you have been used to any sort of order or seniority in the NHS. You will end up remembering with rose tinted glasses even the bureaucracy of the NHS, it’s that bad. I am extremely glad and relieved to have left. NB- Do not be fooled by the polite and friendly talent acquisition recruiter, this person is not a true representation of the companies ethos. A more fitting spokesperson would be the perennially passive aggressive head of HR.

Pros

Accessible site(London bridge) no other pros unfortunately.

Cons

The worst work experience of mylife! You'll loose your self confidence, Depression (please for your mental health, completely avoid this company). I disregarded the previous reviews from here and will forever regret the decision. Disrespect and disregard from senior Directors and HR! 85% of staff are depressed or unhappy people, who are only clinging on because they are desperate for survival as this is the only means of income and no other job is forthcoming. Richmondpharmacology squeezes the life and happiness out of you. Slave work situations especially for the Asian staff who depends on them for visa, 14- 15hrs work per day as well as unpaid extra time and No sick pay if you fall ill. They use and dump you! No Basic amenities for employees like kitchen/lunch area, only 30mins break for more than 10hrs work, no Good(back breaking) or enough seats even!, no lockers or no desk! People seat on bare floor to work or hide in closets to have common lunch! No enough work computers, You have to share computers or work extra odd hours to complete your work hours as they do not accept no excuse or blame for their own inadequacies! Severe micromanagement, ridiculous practice. No care for health conditions of staff, you are on your own. You have to respectfully Greet directors everytime and lick their feets you'll be targeted. Take the fall for their mistakes or negligence. Please choose other options if you can, it is better you have less with happiness than the experience here, it is not worth it, devastating. They'll soon get what is coming to them, all the manipulated Trails results BAD clinical practises, dosing ineligible volunteers. I wonder when the government would take glassdoor seriously and action on Bad companies operation? I could go on and on... AVOID RICHMOND PHARMACOLOGY! Zero interest in employees welfare, you are robots to them, breakdown- discard.

Advice to Management

Keep up your horrible inhumane practices.

Pros

Very social - staff leaving drinks almost every week!!

Cons

There's a reason why the staff turnover is so high

Pros

Richmond Pharmacology has a friendly working environment with lots of opportunities for career progression within the company. CTAs receive ILS training and gain loads of experience in clinical skills.

Cons

Shifts can sometimes be long

Pros

great colleagues, great location, good opportunity to learn if you are the hit the ground running type of worker and like to learn with minimal supervision

Cons

understaffed teams in all departments; bullying upper management who constantly intimidate, belittle and patronise their staff; poor risk and feasibility assessment when accepting new projects/clients

Advice to Management

engage with your teams in a more empowering way, instead of just micromanaging them them, this is specially directed to those managers/directors who have zero medical/pharmaceutical/operational knowledge and run around the building shouting orders. Learn how talented your staff is and give them room and tools to develop, instead of constantly telling them they are not only replaceable but not good enough and disposable. Sometimes, new staff is not better staff.