I thought this was illegal?
You don't make a person redundant, you make the job they're doing redundant.
You can't then hire contractors (or anyone else for that matter) to then backfill...
Capita is hiring a bunch of temps to deal with customer requests being directed at its O2 call centre, just months after initiating a redundancy scheme due to perceived lower levels of work. This is according to the outsourcer’s staff based north of the border in Glasgow, who agreed voluntary redundancy terms last summer but …
I thought this was illegal?
You don't make a person redundant, you make the job they're doing redundant
I spy somebody who wasn't made redundant in the recession!
Technically, you are right in that if you forcibly make somebody redundant then your doing away with their position and not the person. In the real world, what tends to happen is that your offered an insultingly demeaning job in Timbuktu which your supposed to decline. When surprisingly you decide you'd rather not take the job then technically your taking voluntary redundancy and so your position is not made redundant and they can then hire somebody else.
"Correct. How on earth did you manage to make that sound like an insult?
Bitter, much?"
No insult intended. It was more an ironic observation since most people these days have either been made redundant, or seen large portions of the workforce made redundant. When that's happened and you have seen the employment laws twisted into a pretzel then you'll understand the number of gaping holes in employment laws mean they are effectively worthless.
"...When that's happened and you have seen the employment laws twisted into a pretzel then you'll understand the number of gaping holes in employment laws mean they are effectively worthless..."
Such employment laws are effectively moot to me - I am a contractor and have been since the beginning of the recession. The only company I work for is my own limited.
However, I have seen closely various things unfold - the collapse of a relatively large company when it suddenly went into administration. And yes, that was an eye opener seeing how basically all contracts effectively become null and void and customers, suppliers and employees are all equally screwed over.
I've seen companies like HP strip away their staff without seemingly have any compassion or idea of the value of said employees.
I've only ever had one contract terminated early when a bean counter somewhere decided that the "tower" I came under could lose all the contractors and he'd look good by saving a perceived fortune (the decision for me was eventually reversed but by then I'd already secured something else). Inevitably within about a month both myself and others were being contacted to see if we were free to go back.
In a nutshell, my own experiences and those I've seen of others has just convinced me that contracting is actually a safer bet on the whole than being a permanent employee.
This post has been deleted by its author
My first encounter with Capita was way back when they were heavily involved with providing 'supply teachers' and temporary teaching staff. 40 of us had been made redundant by an FE college. Shortly after some of us were recruited by Capita to go back to the same college as temp staff!
Capita Customer Management, the festering hole in question here, still haven't managed to do much of the integration work necessary to actually fulfill their obligations. The entire programme was staffed by contractors who have sat milking it for ages and the 'permanent' 'leadership' all legged it to BUPA and KCOM and places like that. It's a horrible example of how the scum on the surface gets away with it while the sludge at the bottom stays around and the but in the middle is starved of oxygen.
I have worked for Captia they could care less about their employees, along the stats are there, my experience there was terrible there was always turnovers, people being question for going to the loo too many times, people afraid not to show up for work even though some were riddled with flu,
I know a job is a job I respect them but to working will not be a enjoyable experience
o2 should select a better Service Provider to handle their customers,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/12064455/NHS-hit-by-nurses-pay-scandal.html
I am pretty sure they are billing O2 or whoever in excess when they hire temps, from another crapita-owned agency.
There has to be reason why they are doing this.
Then again, as long as they fleece the private sector, I do not really care that much, not my moneys, but how can they be stopped from fleecing the public sector is the real question ...
Capita all over, really. I used to work for a company - let's call them Combuterland - and pre Capita, all was well. We'd got some good contracts - O2, Egg, N-Power etc - and were happy with our lot. Well staffed, profitable, decent service to the customer and so on.
Then we were sold to Capita.
Then half the front line staff were cut and we suddenly had a lot of suits wandering around talking in buzzwords. Metrics, we need more metrics. Have you synergised recently?
Stats. Stats everywhere.
What's the absolute minimum we need to provide the service we're supposed to? UNACCEPTABLE! Half that and demand everyone develop the ability to bend time to accommodate the shortfall.
Why are the stats so poor? We need more stats.
More suits arrive to investigate the poor stats. Decide it's because no one is monitoring time spent away from desk rather than low staffing levels. You there, server admin, why aren't you on the phone? Because Exchange is down, nothing. PHONE.
Monitoring of everything begins. Morale becomes a thing people reminisce about. Everyone leaves. Temps.
Temps, temps, temps, temps, temps, temps, temps, temps, temps, temps.
Capita declare huge success.
Having worked for Crapita under an acquisition/partnership I can say I've never worked for anyone with worse ethics and morals as them! I'm not saying that bitterly either, I moved myself and was treated with utter distain. They are a bunch of accountants, that's all.....you know the score!
Call Centres are just sweat shops, and knowing people that have worked for Capitia, they were kissing the ground when they left, you are monitor constantly even going to the loo
Companies outsource their support staff to Capita, in order to save money, but the conditions the treatment of call centre workers within Capita is terrible, that is clearly why Capita has a very high turn over rate,
Just a terrible place to work for,