Anecdotal Evidence

Made 2 people redundant this week

One of the first signs of a recession is that it's too easy to catch a taxi.

20000miles wrote:

One of the first signs of a recession is that it's too easy to catch a taxi.

No doubt about that. Sometimes it's quicker to walk anyway.

I read at the weekend that the sales of ties was increasing, as people tend to dress tidier in a recession.

Welcome to Machine Nation 20000miles.

I have also come across redundancies lately. Staff costs appear to be the biggest worries for all restaurants, bars and cafes.

A friend of mine, carpenter by trade, who is a hard worker and was getting rapid promotions has been laid off twice in recent times. Apparently senior more expensive ones are the first to be let go.

My insurance broker told me that quotes from insurance companies are becoming less competitive.

Another insurance broker told me he sees no business in the pipeline.

An excellent solicitor I know found it hard to get a job when coming back from traveling.

A place I used to go to every now and then for a treat is half empty at lunch time. A number of months ago it was full.

I have heard reports of a hotel not paying out money from vending machines to the machine owners.

The local wine shop says things are going well.

I have heard of brokers earnings being slashed.

Many people I know don't have a clue about how their bonuses are going to go. I heard of one person who brought in more than four times his salary for the last period and got shag all. A contract dispute if ever I heard one!

The people I get direct marketing calls from seem to be genuine employees ringing from their offices rather than people ringing from call centres. The quality of salesmanship is way up.

I have heard that the new National Employment Rights Agency are coming in very heavy handed against employers. It is suspected that this is at the instigation of the unions as they have replaced the Labour Inspectors of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment who were seen to be generally reasonable. A more Cagney and Lacey approach appears to be the order the day.

I have heard second-hand of companies facing down the Revenue on the basis that all the Revenue will achieve if they come after them now is to destroy jobs and future tax revenue. They are being told there is nothing in the pot.

I note Everton have failed to buy a single player in the off season.

The Sunday Business post carried a front page article reporting that mortgage lenders will only take into account 80% of the salaries of professionals employed in the construction sector. Who wouldhave thought this would start to affect architects!

I have heard that town planners are doing well with lots of work in the pipeline too. Developers appear to be keeping themselves poised for an upswing.

Very difficult to get jobs in the solicitor profession at the moment. I'm in the midst of applications for the firms at the moment. They have not cut down hugely on their intake of apprentices, because they can get them to do the same work as a qualified only pay them a fraction of their salary. It is the people who are newly qualified this year and in search of a new contract who are in the greatest difficulty. Firms generally give you a trainee contract which then has to be renewed at the end of your apprenticeship, it is an easy way to get rid of you after you have outlived your cheap usefulness without any obligations for redundancy pay off or anything like that.

I won't be qualified for several years so hoping things pick up in the interim!

johnfás wrote:

Very difficult to get jobs in the solicitor profession at the moment. I'm in the midst of applications for the firms at the moment. They have not cut down hugely on their intake of apprentices, because they can get them to do the same work as a qualified only pay them a fraction of their salary. It is the people who are newly qualified this year and in search of a new contract who are in the greatest difficulty. Firms generally give you a trainee contract which then has to be renewed at the end of your apprenticeship, it is an easy way to get rid of you after you have outlived your cheap usefulness without any obligations for redundancy pay off or anything like that.

I won't be qualified for several years so hoping things pick up in the interim!

A logical consequence of a economic downturn. It is a difficult business, Johnfàs, and is not helped by the stuffiness one finds everywhere in it. It could be worse. You could be dealing with the other side of it, which is even worse for adhering stubbornly to stuffy traditions belonging firmly in the 18th century. I got out of all that and took the corporate route rather than deal with the bullsh1t. And don't regret a minute of it. Your circumstances are probably much different to mine so keep at it and maybe when you get out at the other end of the Blackhall Place process, things will have improved.

Slim Buddha wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Very difficult to get jobs in the solicitor profession at the moment. I'm in the midst of applications for the firms at the moment. They have not cut down hugely on their intake of apprentices, because they can get them to do the same work as a qualified only pay them a fraction of their salary. It is the people who are newly qualified this year and in search of a new contract who are in the greatest difficulty. Firms generally give you a trainee contract which then has to be renewed at the end of your apprenticeship, it is an easy way to get rid of you after you have outlived your cheap usefulness without any obligations for redundancy pay off or anything like that.

I won't be qualified for several years so hoping things pick up in the interim!

A logical consequence of a economic downturn. It is a difficult business, Johnfàs, and is not helped by the stuffiness one finds everywhere in it. It could be worse. You could be dealing with the other side of it, which is even worse for adhering stubbornly to stuffy traditions belonging firmly in the 18th century. I got out of all that and took the corporate route rather than deal with the bullsh1t. And don't regret a minute of it. Your circumstances are probably much different to mine so keep at it and maybe when you get out at the other end of the Blackhall Place process, things will have improved.

What is it with that nonsense? It's always intrigued me. Is it just pure snobbery?

SeathrúnCeitinn wrote:

Slim Buddha wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Very difficult to get jobs in the solicitor profession at the moment. I'm in the midst of applications for the firms at the moment. They have not cut down hugely on their intake of apprentices, because they can get them to do the same work as a qualified only pay them a fraction of their salary. It is the people who are newly qualified this year and in search of a new contract who are in the greatest difficulty. Firms generally give you a trainee contract which then has to be renewed at the end of your apprenticeship, it is an easy way to get rid of you after you have outlived your cheap usefulness without any obligations for redundancy pay off or anything like that.

I won't be qualified for several years so hoping things pick up in the interim!

A logical consequence of a economic downturn. It is a difficult business, Johnfàs, and is not helped by the stuffiness one finds everywhere in it. It could be worse. You could be dealing with the other side of it, which is even worse for adhering stubbornly to stuffy traditions belonging firmly in the 18th century. I got out of all that and took the corporate route rather than deal with the bullsh1t. And don't regret a minute of it. Your circumstances are probably much different to mine so keep at it and maybe when you get out at the other end of the Blackhall Place process, things will have improved.

What is it with that nonsense? It's always intrigued me. Is it just pure snobbery?

An education course where eating food is an integral part of it??? W T F??

Let us not forget the *ahem* snuff that gets passed around.

johnfás wrote:

Let us not forget the *ahem* snuff that gets passed around.

Is it true they have to ask to go to the toilet from their seniors/betters?

SeathrúnCeitinn wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Let us not forget the *ahem* snuff that gets passed around.

Is it true they have to ask to go to the toilet from their seniors/betters?

Not snobbery. Just bafflement that this nonsense is perpetuated.

cactus flower wrote:

Made 2 people redundant this week

You have my sympathy. It is a tough thing to have to do. I have only let somebody go once (not a redundancy situation).

there's the R-word index:

http://bp2.blogger.com/_Ic2bW45Yawg/R5Tby-l1oEI/AAAAAAAABSg/mBTmTQ0lHFg/s1600-h/R+WORD+INDEX.jpg

School leavers not applying for architecture and planning are making a big mistake. Construction is cyclical and architecture is a seven year course. Recessions are when you get your training and booms are when you make money.

cactus flower wrote:

School leavers not applying for architecture and planning are making a big mistake. Construction is cyclical and architecture is a seven year course. Recessions are when you get your training and booms are when you make money.

I think this stuff gets talked up too much. Perhaps there were too many people entering architectural courses, perhaps they have over extended the availability of the courses, there are certainly more courses now than five years ago. Perhaps people are travelling abroad to more renowned architectural schools. One year of CAO applications does not denote a trend, despite what RTE news would like to think.

cactus flower wrote:

School leavers not applying for architecture and planning are making a big mistake. Construction is cyclical and architecture is a seven year course. Recessions are when you get your training and booms are when you make money.

Did you see the computers lecturer from DCU complaining that he had 220 graduates last year and will only have 70 intake this year? Shouldn't there be a renewed effort to recruit the new batch of leaving cert students 2008/09 and 2009/10/11 to an area that has jobs?

A solicitor with a (usually) very busy practice told me yesterday that he hasn't seen a contract or conveyancing job in months; that side of business has utterly dried up for him and for many of his colleagues, he says....

Sorry you had to let someone go, cactus. Can't be easy.

One has to wonder how the economic upturn was even possible when there were fewer courses, options and less accessibilty to computer, engineering and tech courses years ago. Hmmm.

cactus flower wrote:

Made 2 people redundant this week

Chin up - we didn't let people go back in 2001 (annus horribilis for an internet training company - dotcom bust, 9/11, and foot and mouth all together), so the whole company went in 2002.

ibis wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Made 2 people redundant this week

Chin up - we didn't let people go back in 2001 (annus horribilis for an internet training company - dotcom bust, 9/11, and foot and mouth all together), so the whole company went in 2002.

Thanks for the encouragement Ibis .

We've seen the downturn coming for over a year, so had plans in place to make the transition from boom to, hopefully, sanity rather than bust. That doesn't make it any easier to fire anyone, even if the ones to go were, at times, driving you nuts.

Someone mentioned stand-offs with the Revenue. From what we hear, its the Revenue that is driving the majority of liquidations, as people are landed with big tax bills at the end of a very busy year in 2007, with a much reduced income/cash flow this year.

If things picked up, would you rehire them? Or would you demand their redundancy back. Eircom made me redundant once too, gave me a nice package as well.

riadach wrote:

If things picked up, would you rehire them? Or would you demand their redundancy back. Eircom made me redundant once too, gave me a nice package as well.

In the last two to three years the boom started to do horrible damage to a lot of small firms. Shortage of qualified staff and high staff turnover is very costly in time and money. Constant changes in the regulatory regime ditto. Crazy pressures on clients and too much work. Everyone I know in a similar position is wiping the sweat from their brows and saying never again.

Anecdotally, the number of people doing their houses up remains very strong. The amount of skips that have gone through the area are astonishing so we're doing our bit to keep the tradesmen of Ireland in a job. Having said that, a local kitchen-fitting unit cut back their hours and is operating on a 4 day week.

The number of sales in Town really was and is a sight to behold. I walked down Henry Street and I couldn't find a single shop not promoting some form of sale. The price cuts are savage with up to 80% being shorn from the tags.

There's been a few sales agreed and lettings processed by our local estate agents but I notice that one of the last to set up in the boom is the first to close in the bust. We still have at least 3 more estate agents now than we had before the 2004-06 end of the boom. Our local EAs seem to be sticking in there. Having said that, one of them is next to where I get my hair cut and the number of houses in the window with new(lower) prices stuck on their ads with little pieces of white paper is something else. The prices fall before your very eyes!

More than anecdotally, teaching jobs and their security, are really in demand among Leaving Cert students and graduates alike. Points have really gone up. I don't think that's good for the prospective teachers or good for the students necessarily, but it does highlight that strong desire for the permanent, safe and pensionable.

Kate P wrote:

More than anecdotally, teaching jobs and their security, are really in demand among Leaving Cert students and graduates alike. Points have really gone up. I don't think that's good for the prospective teachers or good for the students necessarily, but it does highlight that strong desire for the permanent, safe and pensionable.

Indeed. People seem to be deserting Built Environment courses in their droves as well. There was one at DIT which went from 410 to 360 this year, Property Economics is the name of the course. I'm nonplussed personally. By the time anybody is finished a college course started this year, the building industry will have recovered and the graduate could walk into a job by that time.

I have heard of a guy who rents machinery to builders whose work has increased because the guys who have been laid off are renting the machinery to do work directly for home renovators. I can't remember where I heard this. It could have been on this site!