Hiring and firing

[greggle]

I was fortunate to get a job in a business consulting / IT company only 3 weeks after landing. They placed me almost immediately at a good client and I have been happy with the way things have panned out.

I put a fair bit of effort in and and was rewarded with a promotion after my 6 month probation.

 

The question I have, however, relates to the way that the company disposes of its staff. Never in my life have I seen so many people come through the doors of an organisation, only to be terminated a few weeks / months later. And that's not mentioning those who have long-service awards and then are, out of the blue, sacked. Obviously when you're in the consulting game, you don't want people sitting on the bench idle. But I have never in my life seen such a huge turn-around of staff in a company with them hiring-and-firing people on a continual basis. Its not like they don't have fairly rigorous recruitment processes ... three interviews plus you are required to do a test. They reject a large number of applicants in this process. I am feeling upset today that they have just sacked one of my linees - he started 5 months ago and he has only sat on the bench as the company has never managed to place him at a client (which, in my opinion, is more of a reflection of the company's Account Managers than the particular staff member). 

 

I was wondering if the easy disposal of staff is the norm for Australian companies or is this an extreme case? It certainly does not seem to be the case (from what I have established) at my client. But obviously with there being not being the strict labour relations laws, as in South Africa, they can get dispose of staff a lot easier. It makes me wonder if contracting is not a better alternative as there seems to be so little loyalty and job-security in my company!

 

Your thoughts?

[Deezo]

I have heard that this happens a lot in Australia but i haven't read up too much about it and would love to hear the thoughts from others...

 

It must make you feel like your turn could come any day now but perhaps you should consider looking for other employment options in the interim where you can find something that offers better "job security" 

[DXB2OZ]

My first job was with a consultancy with several clients and I haven't seen what you have described, nor heard that this common practice in Australia. Usually with Fair Work, there are several steps to be followed which makes firing anyone on a whim not that easy.

 

Having said that, some companies have a practice of "employing" people as independent contractors or on short term contracts/casual so they are not ham-strung, but even then Fair Work can still be brought into play.

 

I do agree with Deezo that you should perhaps start to get a feel for the market and what alternatives are out there.

[EmNew]

I work in the head office for an ASX listed company, and am quite shocked at how sudden and frequent redundancies are.

The notice periods are appalling short - some are terminated on a Friday, and told not to come in the next week. The longest notice I have seen is 5 days. I do however know that the packages paid out are very generous.  I also know, having been in the loop recently regarding a redundancy that was to take place , that my employer is fastidious in covering all legal aspects before making the cut.

It doesn't however make the frequency thereof easier to swallow....