Former Lovisa employee was forced to work without bathroom breaks, among other things. Multiple workers allegedly developed UTIs: ‘hell on earth’

Retail jobs can come with their share of frustrations, although one former Lovisa employee claims her experience went far beyond difficult customers and long shifts.

TikTok creator Livyah recently shared a video looking back at her time working for the jewellery retailer between 2009 and 2016. She framed the experience as material for a Netflix documentary before listing the working conditions she says made those years particularly difficult.

According to Livyah, employees could be expected to work until 1 a.m. without bathroom breaks. She claimed that multiple workers developed urinary tract infections as a result. She also alleged that employees were bullied by their superiors and had to spend their own money to meet KPIs.

Her workplace memories quickly became Netflix material

“Preparing for my Netflix documentary on employees of Lovisa between 2009 – 2016, when we worked until 1:00am, weren’t allowed toilet breaks which resulted in multiple UTIs, got paid overtime in gift cards, were bullied by our superiors, and made to spend our own money to make KPIs”

Livyah is tapping into a TikTok trend where creators use music and text overlays to turn extraordinary personal experiences into potential Netflix material. The approach has become a familiar way to tell stories that might otherwise take several minutes to explain, with some creators presenting their experiences almost like the opening of a documentary. 

The comments turned to Livyah’s claims about working late. One commenter questioned the need for such late finishes, writing, “I’m not being funny but what could possibly be happening in Lovisa to keep you there til 1am?!”

The alleged bathroom restrictions drew their own reaction. One viewer wrote, “No job is making me hold in my urine,” while another shared a brief account of their time at the retailer, saying, “I lasted 3 shifts at Lovisa and quit.”

The Netflix angle also caught viewers’ attention. One commenter wrote, “Now this is a netflix doc I would actually watch”, turning Livyah’s joke into part of the video’s reaction.

The complaints also fit into a wider stream of retail experiences being shared on TikTok, where employees have used the platform to explain why they walked away from difficult jobs. In one case, a woman explained why she eventually reached her breaking point after quitting in front of her colleagues and manager.

Livyah’s video does not establish how widespread the practices she describes were, nor does it provide documentation for the claims. For now, they remain her account of working at Lovisa, which she summed up simply as “hell on earth.”