first direct reviews

3.9

76% would recommend to a friend

(378 total reviews)

Chris Pitt

81% approve of CEO

71% positive business outlook

first direct has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 378 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The first direct employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

378 reviews
3.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

(mostly) very good managers who are approachable and give constructive advice, good benefits - BUPA, pension etc and pay is decent for the role

Cons

repetitive tasks. unsociable working hours. for a business that preaches about mental wellbeing, micromanagement is an issue here - employees are monitored all day everyday (calls listened to and can get pulled up for missing out minor bits of scripting for example and the meagre break allowance - less than 1 hour for a 9 hour shift - must be logged by employees), a minority of the coaches are extremely unpleasant and on a power trip. 99% of feedback received is about what you've done wrong rather than what you've done well which can be detrimental to wellbeing which could worsen their performance. expected to come in around 30 mins before starting a shift to load up the antiquated systems (which you don't get paid extra for)

3.0
Jun 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I had really great managers throughout my time here and a lot of the long standing staff will go so over and beyond to help you. Good training for the most part and I’ve gained a lot from my time here.

Cons

However, for the long term it is not looking good as a lot of the benefits I joined with have been taken away. Looking to remove work from home which was a massive benefit of the job, adds hours to your working week commuting especially when you then need at least half an hour to set up before your shift time which you aren’t paid for and you can get stuck for any amount of time after the shift on a call. Will change hours you need to work at the drop of a hat to very unsociable hours so using public transport is now really difficult. The role itself causes a lot of anxiety as is very customer focused so even if you are really good at the role you can end up feeling quite anxious about calls you encounter and although team mates really care the higher ups in the business do not feel like they care at all about the employees anymore. A lot of people go for development opportunities but it takes them years to get anywhere.

2.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Had a good manager but also had terrible ones who are out to fire you.

Cons

Basic wfh which they are likely to remove completely even though there’s barely enough seats for everyone in the office Don’t help make reasonable adjustments for staff members with any illness. Business does not care if you have mental health, or just anything wrong with you. Not allowed time off if someone in Your family dies unless you take sick leave which they throw back in your face at end of year assessment so you don’t get a bonus.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 378 Reviews

Glassdoor has 391 first direct reviews submitted anonymously by first direct employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if first direct is right for you.