back to article Capita hiring temps to cover for call centre redundancies – staff sources

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 …

  1. TonyJ

    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...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I thought this was illegal?

      From reading it, they haven't made anything, many have quite rightly jumped ship. Other poor sods are awaiting to be made redundant, in the hope of better payment I would presume.

    2. Peter2 Silver badge

      Re: I thought this was illegal?

      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.

      1. KeithR

        Re: I thought this was illegal?

        "your"?

        "You're"!

        FFS - it's "you're"!

      2. TonyJ

        Re: I thought this was illegal?

        "....I spy somebody who wasn't made redundant in the recession!..."

        Correct. How on earth did you manage to make that sound like an insult?

        Bitter, much?

        1. Danny 14

          Re: I thought this was illegal?

          But if they backfill the redundant position with other people (especially more expensive temps) the there is a great case for constructive dismissal.

          1. A K Stiles

            Re: I thought this was illegal?

            ...but if you hire people in Timbuktu to replace the folks who wouldn't move from Glasgow then the role was redundant (in Glasgow) so you're free and easy. (Seen it happen many times, fortunately not to me, so far!)

        2. Peter2 Silver badge

          Re: I thought this was illegal?

          "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.

          1. TonyJ

            Re: I thought this was illegal?

            "...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.

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    true to form!

    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!

    1. chrspy

      Re: true to form!

      These days Capita even tries to fleece it's Supply teachers to pay the "employERS National insurance contribution .........

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Capita

    are nothing more than a cancerous growth that is being left unchecked to fester..

    1. KeithR

      Re: Capita

      Surely not.

      Surely this is the definitive demonstration of the "public BAD, private GOOD" meme that the Confeckingservatives insist is true...

      Good if you're a shareholder, I s'pose...

      1. chrspy
        Facepalm

        Re: Capita

        Or Tim Worstall ..........

        1. Gordon 10

          Re: Capita

          I cant believe even Tim would support Crapita, though he's probably come up with a good economic argument as to why they are naff.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    CCM

    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.

  5. SteveCarr
    FAIL

    How not to deal with fluctuating workloads...

    Seriously, Management can be so totally stupid! Management by spreadsheet, guaranteed to fail

  6. Terry 6 Silver badge

    Private Eye

    In its many stories about them ( none good, I hardly need say) calls them Crapita.

  7. Revelationman

    Does not surprise me

    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,

    1. Roj Blake Silver badge

      Re: Does not surprise me

      "I have worked for Captia they could care less about their employees"

      Well at least they have more than the minimum level of care then!

      Unless you mean to say that they couldn't care less...

      1. TonyJ

        Re: Does not surprise me

        "...Unless you mean to say that they couldn't care less..."

        Yeah this gets me every time... the (generally) American "could care less" really makes no sense.

        But then...'merkin. :)

        Have an upvote

  8. Hans 1

    After the nurses pay scandal ...

    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 ...

  9. Archie Woodnuts

    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.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Awful!

    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!

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Worst Company

    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,

  12. Revelationman

    Captia is one the worst firms I have painfully worked for, it does not surprise me their tactics they treat workers as numbers not human beings

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