If you live on centre you HAVE to be on the food package at £240 a month, the food is awful too. If you're good at the job you're run into the ground and expected to always be energetic and enthusiastic even when being forced to do cross departmental work like working in the kitchen or housekeeping, then if you slip even slightly you're berated and demonized, however if you're bad at the job, make no effort and sign off constantly you're given every opportunity in the world. 
Nothing is ever organised and no one in the management team ever seems prepared for things that are a daily occurrence such as guests arriving on centre or activities being ran at this activity centre.
The rotas run from Saturday to Friday and are currently only put up for staff to see on a Thursday so you can't plan ahead at all.
There was recently a pay increase but that came with an equivalent rise in the cost of the food so there was no change for the on site staff.
If you're not planning on living on centre then you're paid more and don't have to worry about things like being forced to stay on centre all night just in case you're needed for something, you don't have to pay for the food or the accommodation and you're hourly rate is higher, so basically if you live on site then PGL hate you and will try to destroy your soul. 
This year we've been allowed to have 2 days off a week like normal people, however that means we now have to work the additional hours of that extra day through the other 5 leading to people being exhausted, ill and injured, this then leads to people constantly signing off and putting more pressure on those that show up and forcing constant last second changes to the rota meaning you never know what you will be working on any given day.
The only positive I have anymore is when I'm working with the kids, it's amazing working with them, taking them on activities or being their group leader, but I've even lost a lot of my enthusiasm for that now purely from the management trying desperately to beat me down, I'm just broken and I'm not the only one.

though i loved working here, especially being a group leader and getting incredible interactions from both children & teachers - i'd probably not be the first to point out the issues. you will be made to feel bad for taking days off. there will be times where you are refused vital support (whether that is on sessions or off.) at the beginning of my contract i completed a risk assessment and none of that was listened to. when i chased it up, i was told to go through with "it" and then "it would never happen again". spoiler alert ... it absolutely did. why should i ever voice my feelings if they are never listened to? i had no trust in the leadership. 

fellow aigls and catering, retail, housekeeping team were all wonderful. you meet the best people working here and you basically get to mess around with your friends all day. there is a lot of high risk in a lot of the activities but training is thorough and encouraging. sometimes you feel like you're thrown in the deep end. by the end of my contract i was beginning to learn to swim. you will gain  mass confidence working here. it's a difficult job to do without being assertive.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Look after their employees. Fum place to work team work is the key working there it's like a family vibe 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Living on site. Have to get use being away from home. And you sometimes have to share accommodation with work colleagues 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very team work based. Fun plqce to work but be prepared to work in all weather's outside sometimes with unwilling participants. Fun social times outside work time 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Go for breakfast around 7:30  set up sessions you'd be running in the morning usually 2 and help others set up theirs finish about 12 then run afternoon sessions usually 2 again starting at 2:00 finish at 5 then pack up usually finished by 6 you could be asked to help out with evening entertainment usually 7:30 till 9pm.. Full on but fun every day was different

Seemed like a really fun job but after the interview process sent all my information of for a dbs but they sent it of Alot later and ended up messing up my work start date and no communication what so ever once working there you have to pay for food about £200 out if ur pay that u cannot op out of it you have to use there refuel option. Also if you try to get days off you will always be denied never got the days of I wanted even though book off in advance up to a month. And getting back to work from the off season last I herd was a few weeks after I left for the off season with a Xmas card with the wrong name since then havnt herd back after multiple emails and call and getting nothing back

PGL is more than just a place of work. from the moment of first contact the passion was evident. Majority of the permanent staff have been with the company for 10+ years, which is great testament to to culture. I found the work life balance challenging, but being young, free and single and living on centre is an amazing opportunity. The company actively encourages staff development and puts the employees above the needs of everything. Happy staff = Happy customers and a fruitful business. 
PGL have a winning formula and I hope they can get through the difficult time (COVID_19) and be as successful as ever.

Great place to work in my opinion, met some absolutely fantastic people whilst working here. This is a decent job with fairly decent benefits, the main thing being onsite accommodation.

Met some fantastic people whilst working here from various backgrounds. Great culture and if you ever have any issues with your colleagues it can be usually sorted out fairly easily.

Job is low-stress and did have a fair bit of responsibility but was reasonably well paid considering the commitment, had a decent line manager and also a fantastic work life balance of 4 on 4 off.

your always outdoors whatever the weather and theirs always something to do apart from the many activities they do, working with children from the ages of 7-18 is really good experience as you get a wide variety of guests who have individual needs and there all great fun to work with!!!. the management that work by your side and are always there to help if you have any problems with running any of your sessions and help you to improve on any skills you have to make you the best outdoors activity instructor/group leader.

The days were super long, the pay was awful but the memories and team I worked with were great. It's difficult to maintain any kind of work-life balance unless you live off-site because you are around the same people literally 24/7. It's a really fun workplace though, as you are out and active, rather than being stuck inside a shop or office.

At PGL, I was able to move away from my home in London and live in a complete different location. I was able to live on centre which was a benefit as i was able to get to work easier. I worked with a close, enjoyable team of 18 which allowed me to build up a great relationship with each one of them and allowed me to understand how each person worked. This would make it easier for when we were spilt into pairs. The hardest part of the job was that we were slightly understaffed which resulted in each pair having to clean around 40 rooms on one day.

Loved working as an AIGL running sessions with the guests.

Everything else not so much, especially management since around 2021 onwards. Certain management had clear favourites and it was ok if you were one.

However if you were not a favourite then management had no time for you. 

Ultimately I felt pushed out by centre management.

Would love to still be working at PGL, just not Marchants Hill.

Working at PGL: Company Overview and Reviews

PGL

PGL Ratings

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected