This is not Virgin's problem for Personal Trainers, however this particular career is inhibitive of a good work life balance. Just by the very nature of the job, we work when other people don't! That being said, Virgin do not reward on skillsets or on the level of work that trainers put in. Unfortunately the pay structure for personal trainers seems like a really good idea...as you are contracted, and no rental fees. BUT, when you are paying graduate level instructors, who have also paid in excess of £3k to become a certified trainer, who are then charging their customers anywhere from £35-£47.50 for an hour of their time....£8 per hour session delivered initially, it does not make you feel particularly good. Coupled with that, until you start achieving what Virgin deem to be a 'worthy' amount, i.e 15 hours delivered a week, this does not rise up in line with what is appropriate. Whilst it could be argued that you would want to be delivering that number of sessions, and higher, part of the risk is that you will lose talented trainers who perhaps wanted only part time hours, or who have families etc....It also breeds an air of resentment amongst trainers, who watch others earning £25 per hour, whose clients are not achieving anywhere near the same level of results. There is a political level going on in all clubs. Especially those which Virgin bought out. You are able to progress, but only as far as they want you to go, and in the timeframe they want it to be. Employees are allowed to go for jobs internally, regardless if Upper Level Management already have individuals in mind from other clubs, which again, leads to resentment. For those who wish to come in and do their job, and not become involved in office/family politics, or even start living in the pockets of other employees, the advancement opportunities become incredibly limited. This is a place it is very easy to become comfortable in, and also very easy to slide under the radar. This sounds like a positive, however the management structure feels a lot like 'you rise to the level of your own incompetence'.
