I’m an ex Next employee – the secret codes that show how much is being knocked off & why you can never find your size

THE Next Boxing Day sale is one of the biggest shopping events of the year with shoppers queuing outside the store from 6am to bag a bargain.

And now an insider has lifted the lid on the high-street giant and has revealed why you can never find what you are looking for in the sales.

As part of Fabulous’ new series, Talking Shop, we’re finding out what it’s really like to work in your favourite high street stores.

This week we meet Natalie Canham, 33, from Dorset, who worked at Next for five months in 2012.

Here healthcare assistant Natalie reveals why staff get such a big discount and what really goes on the sale rail.

“THE job is yours if you want it.”

Stunned, I shook hands with my new manager after what had been the easiest job interview of my life.

I had applied for a seasonal position at my local Next branch in Shrewsbury. I had barely had a chance to introduce myself before I was offered the job.

“And if you have any friends or family who need work then please tell them to come see me,” my manager said as I signed my name on the dotted line.

“What a relief,” I thought to myself, “That was a piece of cake.”

Little did I know that the job itself would be anything but.

The run-up to Christmas was of course hectic but it was the Boxing Day sale that was the main event.

Staff at Next begin prepping for a sale months in advance.

Come Christmas Eve once we have closed the doors to customers at 6pm that’s when the real work begins.

I found myself up to my eyeballs in stock until 10pm that evening, making it home just before the clock struck midnight on Christmas day.

But the work wasn’t over yet.

When Boxing Day rolled around I peeled myself out of bed at 4am in order to be at the shop at 5am.

Despite the store not opening until 6am there was already a queue around the block when I arrived.

I was quite scared if I’m honest and I was right to be.

It was soul destroying working over the festive season - essentially I didn’t have a Christmas that year. It was easily the worst part of working at Next.

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As soon as the shop opened it was absolute carnage as shoppers bickered over bargains.

But little do they know they know, it’s unlikely that they’re getting a very good deal at all.

What customers don’t realise is that the stock found in the Next sale is rarely from the current line.

That gorgeous new top you’ve found for summer could be from last year’s rails, maybe even the year before.

I have seen clothes from up to four years ago wheeled out at each end of season sale until they are sold.

This is because old stock tends to first go to the outlet stores and then eventually bounce back to the sales.

"It was soul destroying working over the festive season - essentially I didn’t have a Christmas that year."

Natalie Canham

You might be hanging on for something you’ve seen in September to hit the sale but that won’t be in the sale for possibly another two years. 

There are a few exceptions to this.

It is always worth keeping an eye on the tags in store.

If you spot a hand written code this usually means that the item is about to go on sale with the number indicating the new price.

For example the code FD15Z the ‘15’ indicates it will be £15 in the Next sale. 

And of course it is always worth asking for a cheeky ten per cent off if you spot any faulty goods, staff are normally happy to grant this, even on sale items.

If you do shop during a sales period please bear in mind that fitting rooms are closed for the first three days.

And you won’t be able to return anything until four days into a sale either, this is always when customers are at their worst.

I have had angry women screaming in my face because they haven’t been able to exchange a new top immediately.

It’s not all bad though.

The best thing about working at Next was the staff discount - we got around 80 per cent off clothing.

But there is a catch.

You had to get your choices approved by your manager to check your outfit was appropriate for work.

If you couldn’t wear the clothes to work then the discount went down to 20 per cent.

We also got the chance to see what was going to go into the sale before the public did which meant we could get even more money off.