BHS one year on: Staff struggle to move on

The repercussions of BHS’s demise have been felt across the business and political landscapes.

Corporate governance rules have come under government scrutiny, and an industry already under pressure has been further tarnished by the seemingly immoral behaviour of the department store’s then owners.

But by far the biggest day-to-day effect was felt by the 11,000-strong workforce of the chain, who over last summer lost their jobs as BHS stores across the country closed down, stock was flogged off and fixtures and fittings were carried off by customers.

“[It is] as if your reality is coming crashing down around you and all you can do is just stand there slack-jawed and watch it happen. It was the start of a very bleak period, which in many ways still isn’t over”

Former Tunbridge Wells branch employee Grant Atterbury

Many of those employees had spent their working lives on the shop floor of the retailer, while others viewed it as a stop-gap or bit of extra cash.

For most, such as former Tunbridge Wells branch employee Grant Atterbury, the reality was somewhere in between.

‘Out of touch’

He watched the events of the collapse unfold with a disbelief that was tempered by his experience of “out of touch” management during his time at the department store chain.

“All in all, it was one of those episodes in your life when you can’t quite believe what’s going on,” he tells Retail Week.

“[It is] as if your reality is coming crashing down around you and all you can do is just stand there slack-jawed and watch it happen. It was the start of a very bleak period, which in many ways still isn’t over.”

“My theory was that at the very top of the ladder was a besuited chimpanzee sitting at a desk and smoking a cigar, surrounded by a bunch of nodding yes-men”

Former Tunbridge Wells branch employee Grant Atterbury

Having joined BHS in 2007, when it was still under the control of Sir Philip Green, Atterbury says he long had concerns over management at the department store, which were “out of touch with the reality of the shop floor”.

“My theory was that at the very top of the ladder was a besuited chimpanzee sitting at a desk and smoking a cigar, surrounded by a bunch of nodding yes-men.

“It seems to me that I might not have been too far off the mark, to be honest, given what I saw during the TV coverage of the select committee hearings last year,” he adds.

The struggle to find new jobs

After spending the best part of a decade on the shop floor, Atterbury assumed he would be able to find another job easily enough. That was not to be the case, however.

After struggling to even secure interviews, he ended up applying for Universal Credit before getting a job this March – his redundancy package was a little under £2,000.

Jean Costello, who worked at South Shields BHS for ten years, calls herself “one of the lucky ones” because she has found work. 

“It was going downhill anyway. You could tell by the atmosphere in the store and things like light bulbs not being replaced. They were going to rack and ruin by the end. They were selling rubbish, it wasn’t British Home Stores”

Former South Shields branch employee Jean Costello

“I have friends that haven’t found jobs,” she says. “I am alright, Philip Green hasn’t knocked me down.”

Costello now works as a live-in carer, which takes her away from her hometown for much of the time.

“I have grandchildren now so I miss them, but it’s nice having a decent wage. I make as much in a week as I used to in a month. I don’t know how I used to manage at BHS,” she says.

Costello says it was clear BHS was in trouble under Dominic Chappell’s tenure.

“It went downhill [fast],” she says. “Though it was going downhill anyway. You could tell by the atmosphere in the store and things like light bulbs not being replaced.

“They were going to rack and ruin by the end. They were selling rubbish, it wasn’t British Home Stores.”

‘We won’t forgive Sir Philip’

While Costello found another job, she says that she will never work in retail again.

“We thought we would work there til we retired,” she says, of her and six colleagues who had spent ten years working at the South Shields branch. “And it’s hard when you get to a certain age to find another job.”

While working at BHS had its share of disadvantages, Atterbury says it engendered a sense of loyalty and closeness among colleagues.

“As much of a cliché as it is, the BHS shopfloor workforce really was like a family,” he says.

“We had some great laughs and not a day goes by that I don’t think about those. I’m not sure I’ll ever find anything quite like that anywhere else.”

Costello adds that BHS employees are not ready to forgive Sir Philip Green.

“It’s a year later but we’ll never get over what he did to us – it’s still raw. People won’t let it go”

Former South Shields branch employee Jean Costello

“I loathe Philip Green – more than Dominic Chappell,” she says. “We all knew when it was sold that something was going to happen.

“He’s a clever man with no morals. He knew exactly what he was doing. He could have sold it to me, I’d have done a better job.

“It’s a year later but we’ll never get over what he did to us – it’s still raw. People won’t let it go.”