HAVING A BLAST at work is okay for Merlin Entertainments staff. Doing their job “for the love of fun” is a company value — which makes sense, given that they work at the places the rest of us visit for amusement. Merlin's day-out hotspots include Thorpe Park, Legoland, Madame Tussauds, the London Eye, Alton Towers, Sea Life centres and Warwick Castle. Jobs at the Poole-based company can be anything from Lego builder to waxworks sculptor, zoo keeper to engineer, although “guest experience host” is the most common role. In peak season, swelled by holiday workers, staff numbers exceed 27,000, but year-round full- and part-timers number 3,579. People love working here, giving this measure a 74% positive score and a seventh place ranking in our survey. Employees have fun with each other (81%) and teammates feel like family (73%). They also raise money for Merlin's Magic Wand, the company's children's charity, which gives free entry to the parks to seriously ill or disabled youngsters and builds sensory environments in hospitals and special schools for those who cannot make an outing. Sea Life Trust, another corporate charity, supports freshwater and marine habitats worldwide, and staff take part in local beach clean-ups. Merlin Entertainments encourages charitable activities (83%), cares for the environment (75%, seventh) and makes every effort to protect it (71% and sixth), staff believe. www.merlinentertainments.biz
