Why join Nando’s?

‘Why Nando’s?’ That’s a good question, but also a question with no definitive answer. In fact, if you asked everyone who worked for us, you’d probably get a different answer every time. For some it may be the fact that we’re the kind of name that’s on everyone’s lips. For others it may be the fact that we’ve won awards for being a great place to work and continually invest in our people. To be on the safe side, we’ll go over a few of the reasons why people join us.

A responsible
business

Of course we want to serve up unforgettably memorable Nando’s experiences every day and every night, but our responsibilities as a business go much further than that. We continually strive to make our business as good as it can be, in an environmentally and ethically responsible way.

While it’s a serious endeavour, we wouldn’t be Nando’s if we didn’t approach what we do with a whole lot of enthusiasm, fun and innovation. We like to think that’s why it’s not just one or two of us doing this, but everyone right across the business. All looking for ways to do the right thing across three key areas:

  • Our people and communities

    • Work experience: We’re passionate about giving real opportunities to young people across the UK. So you’ll regularly find us working alongside organisations to offer work experience in our restaurants.
    • Community activity: Our family culture means we love doing things together, and no more so than when it’s for a great cause. All over the UK our restaurants choose to act on causes close to their hearts.
    • Diversity: We’re proud to be home to people from all kinds of different backgrounds, but to us diversity is more than creating an inclusive culture. It’s about maximising the opportunity our diverse opinions and talents can bring to the business.

  • Our restaurants

    • Recycling: More than 95% of our restaurants sort dry mixed recycling (glass, cardboard, plastic), and over 50% are able to recycle the food waste too. (Increasing every day!) We also recycle the cooking oil and even our uniforms, and donate unwanted equipment and furniture to charity.
    • Heat Recovery: Our grills are hot. About 270 degrees hhhot. Since 2010 we’ve used waste heat from the grills to heat the water at our new builds and refurbishments. This means using less electricity as a result.
    • Offices: It’s not a big part of our impact, but we’ve made some changes. We segregate all our waste in our offices, fitted LED lights, switched to double-sided printing, drink Fair Trade brews and tap water, and we’ve cold-heartedly ditched plastic cups.

  • Our food

    • No chuckin’ our chicken: At the end of a business day, most of our restaurants freeze our excess chicken and hand it over to soup kitchens and homeless shelters.
    • Food waste: Best waste is no waste at all. However, for the unavoidable food waste, over half of our restaurants send it off to anaerobic digesters to be used as fuel to make electricity and fertiliser.
    • Sourcing policies: All our chicken is Red Tractor, even in Ireland. We’re also committed to sustainable sourcing. 100% of our soya and palm oil used as ingredients is certified sustainable.

Awards

  • We never set out to win awards, but we’re not going to lie, it feels pretty damn good when we do. The awards that mean the most to us, are those that recognise us as a great place to work. Like being previously named The Sunday Times Best Big Company to Work For. Yep, that made us pretty proud.

    Great Place to Work

  • 2004

    Greater London Award, Working In Management Teams Programme (WIMT) – National Training Award (NTA)

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  • 2005

    National Training Award/Special Award/Greater London Award, all for our Management Coaching Programme – National Training Award (NTA)

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  • 2006

    Greater London Award, Induction Training – National Training Award (NTA)

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  • 2008

    Greater London Award, Leadership Programme – National Training Award (NTA)

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Rewards
& recognition

  • Since the very beginning we’ve wanted Nando’s to be a different kind of place to work, not just eat. Naturally, the rewards you’ll get will depend on your role and where you join us, but we’ll clear that up with you before you join. Some of our benefits include:

  • Free meals for everyone who works in our restaurants when they’re on shift, and a discount of up to 40% when they’re not. (Depending on the day of the week.)

  • Patrãos and Assistant Managers have a 5-day working week and can have one weekend off per month. Also, a clothing allowance to look extra sharp.

  • We offer a paid 4-week sabbatical for every five years of continual service. It gives our people the chance to do something a bit different and a bit new. We’ve got a couple of people who have experienced three or four sabbaticals now!

  • Sharing in our success is a big thing to us. Patrãos and MD’s can earn their salary again in bonuses over the year. Or in Macho Peas if they prefer. And there’s private healthcare too.

  • Cycle to work scheme and a great discounts platform available to everyone to help your money go further.

  • Last, but definitely not least, there’s our fun extravaganzas. We make sure each year is filled with fun, whether it’s team trips, annual conferences, family fun days, networking events or Christmas parties.

Training the
Nando’s way

Full of fun and excitement, development for us isn’t just an afterthought or lip service.
It’s at the heart of everything we do.

We invest a great deal in helping you to be yourself at your best. Whether that’s helping you to fulfil your full potential in your current role or help you aim even higher, we’ll work with you to make sure it happens. When you’re enjoying your experience with us, our customers find themselves smiling too.

It doesn’t matter where you join us, in the first month we’ll show you the basics and continue from there. Everyone has their own preferred way of learning, so our training programmes are tailored to individual needs, putting you in control of your own journey. Whether it’s learning new skills, learning about yourself, learning from others, we’ll provide the map and guidance. You choose the route and destination. And, as with everything else at Nando’s, you can be assured that we make it fun.

Some of our L&D
bits and bobs:

  • Induction training

    Focused on helping you to understand the way we do things around here, get to grips with the basics and set you up for success.

  • On-the-job-training

    The best learning takes place on the job, not solely in a classroom. We have a variety of ways in place to support you, including cross training, NVQ’s and our much-admired Buddy and Host schemes.

  • Reviews

    You can expect regular feedback from everyone around you as well as reviews about not only what you are doing but how you are doing it.

  • Career paths

    Clear career pathways for all operational roles, from Buddy to Regional Managing Director. We’re proud of our talent and have a strong focus on internal progression so you can be certain that if you have what it takes to advance in our business, we’ll be talking to you about it and doing everything we can to help you along the way.

  • Masterclasses and workshops

    Giving you the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be at your best and shine like a star.