Company to employees: ‘Go work somewhere else for a while’
July 31, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Economy, In This Week's E-Newsletter, Latest News & Views, Retention
A British company’s alternative to laying off employees: helping them get temporary jobs with competitors.
Telecom firm BT has worked out an arrangement with other companies in “like-minded industries.” The deal: Would-be layoff victims can temporarily work for — and be paid by — those other employers.
Then, once BT’s ready for them, they’ll get their old jobs back.
The temporary re-assignments are being offered on a voluntary basis, but employees will be forced to make the move if the need arises, a BT spokesperson said. As for how long the workers will be employed by competitors, the company has only said it will be at least a month, according to the Times Online.
Supporters of the scheme say it will allow BT to cut costs while maintaining morale and making sure they have their best employees back once the economy picks up. But detractors say it will only encourage staff to move to other employers permanently.
What do you think? Is the loan of workers a smart way to avoid layoffs? Or a bad move for everyone involved? Give us your opinion in the comments section below.
Tags: BT, competitors, layoffs
August 7th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
This sounds like a good concept, but it will not work in most situations. Many companies have non-compete agreements in place and this type of program will confilict with the non-compete. In addition, I wouldn’t want an employee that has access to sensitive information going directly to a competitor. There is the huge possibility that if the employee is a star employee for you, they will probably be a star employee for your competitor and it might result in a bidding war to see who would keep the star employee. I think in the long run, this plan will backfire for all parties involved.