Halfords jobs can be ideal for those who are interested in repairing and replacing parts for any vehicles and bicycles.
Company Overview
Halfords was founded in 1882 as a wholesale ironmonger. 10 years later, it moved to Halford Street in Leicester from whence it got its name. Since then it has expanded and is now one of the major suppliers of DIY car parts, bicycles, satellite navigation systems and car audio systems.
It has 750 stores spread across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Czech Republic and Poland. The company’s revenue was just over £1,29b in 2021 and they declared a profit of £256m (13,1%). Halfords employs around 10,000 workers.
The company website can be found at www.halfords.com. At the bottom, there is a link saying ‘Halfords Careers’.
Clicking this goes to a ‘Welcoming’ screen (www.halfordscareers.com) which has the following options:
- Halfords Careers
- Head Office
- Stores
- Student Placements
- Graduates
- Halfords People
- Learning and Development
- New Store Openings
- Reward Principles
- Current Vacancies
One might think it reasonable to expect that ‘New Store Openings’ would give actual vacancies (since this is ‘Halfords Careers, after all) but, instead, it only states:
“We are currently in the process of updating this site. If you are interested in a position with Halfords please continue to check on a weekly basis for further updates.”
Choosing the ‘Current Vacancies’ instead only gives links to ‘Head Office’ and ‘Stores’.
‘Head Office’ had one vacancy – for an ‘Online Product Assistant’ in Redditch. This had a reasonably detailed job description and offered a salary of around £21,000.
‘Stores’ just showed an outline map of the UK without any instructions – very confusing and easy to think that was the end of the road. However, if you hover your mouse over the map, it lights up and you can click on your chosen region. This will then take you to a page where that region’s jobs will appear.
All blue-collar jobs are ‘apply in store’ and only offer wages of between £9.81 and £9.92 per hour (depending upon age) while white-collar jobs are ‘apply online’ although you need to register first.
Typical jobs are:
- Center Manager
- Assistant Manager
- Mobile Expert
- MOT Tester
- Vehicle Technician
- Fitter
- Administrator
There are only 4 blue-collar jobs listed in London (no management ones). That combined with every single job (irrespective of status or region) being ‘start asap’ does not inspire confidence in the site.
Reverting to ‘Rewards Principles’:
They claim “All salaries are reviewed regularly to make sure we stay competitive” but it was not clear how that works when they are only paying the Minimum Wage for most jobs. In fact, Halfords is offering rates below the minimum since a 21-year-old should be paid at least £9.93 per hour and 18-year-olds should receive at least £9.92 per hour – see the official government website. They also say that every job has details of a bonus scheme – this is not so.
Packages include:
- Paid holiday (thought that was standard)
- Staff discount of 15% on all products
- Contributory pension scheme
- Share save scheme (no details)
- Share options, medical insurance and a car are all dependent upon the level of seniority.
Halfords has a personal development scheme which offers 2 years of comprehensive training and an opportunity to work in a variety of areas such as marketing and buying. Presumably, this refers to managerial posts only.
They run a Graduate Scheme but the webpage read as follows:
“The Graduate Scheme for intake in 2021 is now closed. If you are interested in applying next year for the 2022 intake, please watch this space …..”
It does, however, give the procedure for applying:
Complete an application form which includes a variety of tie-breaker type questions (not specified)
- Telephone interview
- One-day assessment course which includes a group exercise, psychometric testing and an interview.
It is abundantly clear that the website is either ‘in progress’ or not being properly maintained which seems more likely. Halfords also need to think about the Minimum Wage implications if these figures are correct.
How to Apply
Just like any other nationwide company in the UK, Halfords too does not accept printed application forms or CVs. You can apply for Halfords jobs online at https://www.halfordscareers.com/.
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