VERY bad experience
Very bad experience, I wouldn’t recommend.
My role as a Marketing and Admin Assistant at Paper Lounge was disorganised from the very start. I received the job offer in July but did not receive a contract until September after requesting one in August. By the time I received it, I’d already decided to resign due to the poor management and lack of structure. I was told I had to sign the contract in order to receive my owed payment which I did. I also wasn’t provided with a work laptop to properly carry out my duties until September.
On top of the disorganisation, management was highly unprofessional. Communication was poor and frequently handled through WhatsApp rather than professional email. My working days and hours were often sent at the last minute — once even at 10:56pm for the following day. Management regularly arrived 15–20 minutes late each week, and on one occasion, over an hour late, without informing me or offering an apology. I found this particularly disrespectful, as I was commuting two hours to meet while still arriving early most days.
I was very polite, professional, understanding and incredibly patient throughout despite the poor communication, lateness and disorganisation and this was not respected in my opinion. I resigned because a better and more professional opportunity presented itself.
Rather than taking accountability, apologising and trying to rectify the situation, management often engaged in blame-shifting and petty disputes. Even when I suggested that we continue our communication regarding the finalisation of payment through email as it’s more professional, I was still blamed for communicating via WhatsApp — even though this was the main form of communication initiated by management.
The role itself was also misrepresented: it was purely admin and PA duties with no marketing responsibilities as advertised. The actual duties of this role consist of sorting through company receipts, responding to customer queries via email, fulfilling online orders and invoices. I was verbally assured there would be marketing duties “later on,” but this wasn’t communicated clearly in the initial job description.
Despite handling sensitive customer data and order information, I wasn’t given any of the essential training — no Data Protection (GDPR), no Cybersecurity Awareness, and no Confidentiality training — all of which should be a requirement!
After I informed management of my new job offer, they tried to persuade me to stay. Only then, when I requested further details, were potential benefits such as pension, holiday entitlement, sick pay, maternity leave, bonus, and health cover outlined — benefits that should have been included in the original job description. I should have received a contract shortly after my job offer. As an employer, they should have been proactive in providing this information and requesting my details from the start, but instead I was left pursuing it. These responsibilities fall on the employer, not the employee.
When it came to payment and owed wages, the process was unnecessarily dragged out by management repeatedly asking me to reconfirm details I had already provided. Despite sending my bank details in early September and confirming my hours by email, payment was still delayed for over a week after I received my payslips. First I was told it was because I ‘hadn’t confirmed my hours,’ which I had already done, and then on October 4th I was asked again to reconfirm my bank details after raising a grievance that I hadn’t been paid. These repeated and unnecessary requests caused avoidable delays and a frustrating experience around payroll.
After FOUR long months, I finally received my owed wages yesterday on October 4th at 22:15pm and I’m relieved this ordeal is finally over and I can move on. Managements confirmation of payment included an unprofessional remark that they had ‘decided not to penalise me’ for leaving without notice. This was an empty threat, as I only received a contract after I had already resigned and no notice period had ever been agreed beforehand.
I truly regret accepting this job role, and I am left extremely disappointed. I genuinely expected better. The lack of professionalism, organisation, and misrepresentation made my experience at Paper Lounge incredibly frustrating and disheartening.
I do NOT recommend. Don’t waste your time.