Pros
High profile UK projects with long term work @ HS2. There are some fantastic people working within the UK projects (who I wish I could name here) but it's only a matter of time before these people leave out of frustration and get replaced by company yes men.
Cons
Where to start... It's quite difficult to summarise this company, it's like stepping back in time. The employee handbook policies were written in 2012, all policies and procedures are horrendously old fashioned. The IT is grim and it's a huge frustration for all staff. In 2020 they decided to stop flexible working and working from home for all UK employees. They are literally going backwards! Dragados are extremely opposed to change or moving with the times, Madrid's default answer to any suggestion of improvement is always no and Madrid make all UK decisions. You will never get an explanation why the answer is no... You just get told that Madrid said no. It's a tough environment if you are forward thinking and someone who looks to improve flawed systems. Madrid have to sign of everything, and I mean everything, it makes no sense. Depending on the mood of Madrid you can wait weeks or sometimes months for things like expenses or offers of employment to be processed. From the day someone receives a verbal offer, they can be kept waiting for months for Madrid to make a final decision. When it comes to the welfare of their employees, decisions are based on legal implications and nothing else, they will do bear minimum for their staff every time, it's terrible and I wish I could say more on this. Extremely short sighted company with a very arrogant opinion that people in the UK should be grateful to work for Dragados. Expats are always treated more fairly than local employees. When experienced senior managers leave, another inadequate expat arrives to replace them. Leadership... It's the luck of the draw on this one. You might get lucky and report into someone fantastic who knows the UK market and who has the right experience to not only carry out their role well within the company but they can lead, manage and motivate you. This scenario is an exception rather than a rule. For me personally, it was the most soul destroying leadership I've ever encountered, don't even ask me about micro-managing! A very uninspiring place to be and a company that will suck the life out of you until you give up and leave. (I'm currently working my notice).