About Wickes
What is Wickes?
Wickes Group plc (LSE: WIX) is one of the UK's largest home-improvement retailers. The company started in 1972 — "two brothers opening one store, to try to make home improvement better together" — and today operates 233 stores across the UK plus an online business, with more than 8,000 employees and a national delivery and trade network. Wickes demerged from Travis Perkins to list on the London Stock Exchange in April 2021.
Wickes' identity centres on its "Let's" mission: an invitation to do home improvement together. The careers ethos: "Let's attract and nurture the very best talent at all levels," "Let's commit to always supporting a culture that reflects our vision and Winning Behaviours," and "Let's embrace the vast range of cultures and experiences within our company."
Where will I work?
Wickes' Group support functions are based at the registered office in Watford (Vision House, 19 Colonial Way, Watford, Hertfordshire WD24 4JL). Retail roles span the 233-store network across England, Scotland and Wales — typical job postings include Customer Service Assistants at hourly rates (e.g. £12.71/hr in 2026), Assistant Managers (from £28,523), Store Managers, and Finance/Group support roles at Watford. Distribution and TradePro roles are based in the support & service network.
What is the Wickes team like?
The "8,000+ employees" team is split across stores and the support & service network. The company centres its culture on "Let's Do it Right": attracting and nurturing the best talent at all levels, embracing diverse cultures and experiences, and treating everyone fairly and equally regardless of status. Wickes runs International Women's Day employee features, recruitment-team interview-tip articles, and assessment-day coaching to support inclusive hiring.
Work-Life Balance
Wickes' flagship work-life balance offering is the store-manager flexible working programme rolled out nationwide in January 2024 after a Timewise-consultancy six-month trial in 14 stores. Store-management teams can now choose "working four longer days in-store or flexing their hours across the week to better suit their lifestyles." The trial showed 96.5% of participating store managers were satisfied or very satisfied with their hours (up from 66.5% pre-pilot), and the company found "no negative impact on store KPIs." Wickes also offers a generic Flexible Working programme for other colleague populations, plus enhanced maternity and paternity leave + fertility / pregnancy / parenthood / men's & women's-health advisory services.
Perks and Benefits
- Store managers (post-2024): four longer days in-store OR flex hours across the week
- 20% Wickes discount (online + in-store) + 1,000+ partner retailers across gyms / supermarkets / holidays / restaurants
- Wickes pension plan (contributions vary by grade)
- Life Assurance for all (with opt-up at own cost)
- Health & Wellbeing Support: private GP (phone or video) + health test kits + counselling + Mental Health First Aiders
- EAP — free counselling + free and confidential advice on debt, bereavement and legal matters
- Mental wellbeing tools: apps + helplines + face-to-face counselling
- Self-funded "Your Choice" range: Critical Illness Cover + Health Cash Plan + Dental Insurance Plan + Cycle to Work + Low Emissions Car Benefit
- Enhanced maternity + paternity leave + fertility / pregnancy / parenthood / men's & women's-health advisory services
- Save As You Earn shareholder plan + salary advances + loans + Financial Wellbeing programmes