at my work there is a double employment system- you are either full staff or are hired by a consultancy firm. i very recently moved to full employee (had to come for my interview a week after my surgery!) and thank goodness i did as the agency are having a cull :(

this happens every january as the consultancy firm over hire to cover the busy holidays but its much much worse this time. the floor i sit on i normally have to fight for a seat when i start (late start at half two), now its empty.

given that i am now an 'official' worker i am fine, so is my other half, but i have lots of friends who are not and i am really worried for them.

anyway, just needed to express my concerns.

Is it a call centre you work in?  Sorry if I am wrong.  I have heard that they have a high staff turnover - like a conveyer belt. At least you do not have anything to worry about at the moment - your job is secure.  Ironically it is more expensive to use agency staff but it means the client company do not have to pay any redundancy packages when they don't have such a high demand for service from their own customers - as you say they can then do a staff audit to make sure they are providing the minimum staff they require.  I'm trying to get my brothers into agency work, specifically call centres, as it is very good for giving opportunities and experience, regarldess of the staff turnover: potential employers look on the experience favourably.

> Is it a call centre you work in? 

alas yes. there is a high staff turn over on the calls side of things but its because people quit. it is more expensive to hire agency by the hour- which used to drive me bonkers when i was one and got paid less than my bf- but its cheaper from a benefits pov (my employer is not to bad for the benefits).

the thing is it doesn't make any sense! we are always quiet at this time of year and then it goes mental in february. they have just expanded to accomodate more staff! and its not money as they just announced record profits.

one of my best work mates is 7 months pregnant, 2 of my bfs team mates just got sacked and they have kids.

it's really horrible :(

How horrid!  I used to work in a call center, and the staff turn over was amazing!  There were always new people coming in to work, but to try and find someone who had been there more than a year, was rather difficult. 

Hopefully your friend (who is 7mths along) will be ok.  The economy bites, and I cant imagine what it must be like to be expecting a baby and then loose your job, when every cent counts.