'Cult-like' office saw employees work '15-hour shifts and not even get paid'

27 February 2023 , 11:20

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Martin Hayfield outside the former Generation office in Cardiff (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)

An excited young man who landed his dream job was left horrified when he was forced to pull 15 hour-long shifts in a 'Wolf of Wall Street' atmosphere - sometimes without pay.

Martin Hayfield, 26, couldn't wait to get started after being told he would be working for Generation South Wales in Cardiff.

With a salary of up to £25,000 and 'performance bonus' for additional pay on top, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

He was told he had beaten 30 others to the position of "trainee sales and marketing assistant" at the firm - but the reality soon hit home, WalesOnline reports.

Explaining that Generation did not mention in job adverts or interviews that they would be doing door-to-door sales or that shifts could be double the norm, he said his dream turned into a nightmare.

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According to the man and other former workers, it was not mentioned that their pay would be zero if they did not make sales.

It is alleged that they also failed to tell staff that they would have to pay for petrol and accommodation while travelling across the UK, something owner Roel Mojico has denied.

"It felt like the biggest moment of my life," said the Mr Hayfield, who had previously been working as a delivery cyclist. "I rang my parents to say I'd got it."

Scenes that unfolded each morning in Generation's office above a Cardiff Poundland have been likened to "something out of the Wolf of Wall Street", from claims of blaring dance music to intense swear-filled pep talks.

The office was described as like 'something out of the Wolf of Wall Street' (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)

The words "cult-like" and "dystopian" were used by former workers who say their mental health suffered from their time at Generation.

One 22-year-old woman was never paid at all despite more than a month of gruelling work that left her ill, but she still found herself feeling guilty afterwards. "They really put it on you," she said. "I felt it was my fault for not making money."

Mr Mojico claims he "always strived to treat members of the Generation team - consultant or otherwise - kindly and compassionately".

He added: "Hearing that some feel that they did not receive such treatment is never nice, but typical in the demanding industry that is sales. On the other hand, I maintain that there are many I work/worked with that have been sales consultants for a long time and have thoroughly enjoyed doing so."

The Generation South Wales website screamed professionalism

Sometimes the doorstep sales involved energy deals.

Workers were asked to memorise a script and tell people they were not selling energy and were "not from a supplier" but simply wanted to "stop your prices going up £200".

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Yet, even if the household was on a cheaper deal, a text would allegedly be sent saying money would be saved by switching to ScottishPower or So Energy. If a bill went up "we were told to say they wouldn't actually pay that amount", claimed one former worker.

Mr Mojico claims Generation's workers were not actually staff - they were "self-employed contractors".

Mr Hayfield was not told he would only be paid if sales were strong (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)

He says the role was commission-only, yet employers are still bound by law to top up staff's pay when they don't make enough commission to earn the minimum wage.

Job adverts that said the opposite were simply an "oversight", he said

"Why would you apply to a sales company if you don't believe you can do sales?" he asked.

The entrepreneur has only just turned 28 but he has been running "marketing" companies since as far back as 2016. Despite growing up in leafy Ascot and attending the elite public school Charterhouse — where fees are up to £44,000 a year — his LinkedIn page claims he "didn’t come from a background of abundance or success".

Mr Mojico says the company no longer does door-to-door sales and "acts purely on a consultancy basis".

Conor Gogarty