Workers in Liverpool have said they have been 'sold out' after a major retailer confirmed hundreds of jobs will be moving out of the UK. In March, the Liverpool ECHO reported on The Very Group's (TVG) plan to transfer 530 jobs to French-based outsourcing giant Teleperformance (TP).
At the time, assurances were given that all staff would be redeployed and there would be no redundancies. However, five months after the initial announcement, one worker claims the reality has been very different.
Jobs moved to South Africa
The original plan was for staff to maintain their roles for Very, but after October, workers would be reassigned to other jobs within TP's other UK-based businesses. When that process was complete, the customer care roles would be moved overseas, away from TVG sites in Speke and Bolton.
The ECHO can now report some of those jobs have been re-located to South Africa. For workers who had spent decades answering calls for one of Liverpool's best-known retail businesses, the proposed employment changes came as a "bombshell", while the ongoing transfer has led to further uncertainty and personal hardship.
Workers face redundancy
Last week, the ECHO spoke to people currently working for Very, who told how some of their colleagues are now facing redundancy. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one employee said: "Very said that all of us would be redeployed and offered jobs with Teleperformance, [which] stated, numerous times, that there would be no redundancies and that we would all be given jobs."
"Recently a lot of my colleagues have been put on 'gardening leave' as there are no jobs available for them, and have been told that they are at risk of redundancy. The stress over the past five months has been horrendous as no one seems to know what is happening and when or if we will be given new jobs."
The employee added: "Very has refused to answer pertinent questions, and [it feels like they] have sold us out. Many people have worked there for decades, and colleagues are like family, we've been through births, marriages, bereavements and divorces together. It's utterly heart breaking."
Companies respond
Both TVG and TP dispute this characterisation. TVG maintains it has not made any workers redundant as part of the TUPE transfer to TP, and said it worked to ensure colleagues were kept 'informed and supported', and were given the 'information, time and assistance they needed'. It also confirmed the responsibility for the management and deployment of staff now sits with TP.
For its part, a TP spokesperson said it had made clear it might not be possible to find an alternative position for every employee, adding: "Redeployment depends on suitable vacancies being available at the relevant time and colleagues being able to meet the working-pattern and training requirements of those roles."
The ECHO understands this latter point relates to the availability of working hours. The whistle-blower told the ECHO some of their colleagues work part-time or particular days because of childcare, caring responsibilities and other commitments, but claimed many of the opportunities being presented are full-time.
Union and training concerns
Representing workers during and after the transfer is the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW). Area organiser Michelle Byrne said it previously understood there were no redundancies planned, but added: "The company (TP) later communicated that redundancies may be an option."
Ms Byrne continued: "We will endeavour to fight for our members rights and provide them with the support they need during this difficult time."
The whistle-blower also claims some UK employees are now being used to train workers in South Africa, adding: "We've effectively been asked to train our replacements." TP did not address this specific allegation in the statement provided to the ECHO.
For the workers themselves, the corporate language of transfers, redeployment and campaigns sits uneasily alongside the intensely personal consequences. The whistle-blower remembers a workplace in which people spent decades together and expected that loyalty to count for something.
"It's [all hard to take] because we have worked there [Very] so long, you start thinking they respect and appreciate your long service, so to be treated like this just goes to show we're just disposable to them."
For hundreds of workers whose lives were once intertwined with one of Liverpool's most recognisable retail names, the overriding feeling now is uncertainty and despair. The staff member told the ECHO: "My mental health is on the floor, as is that of many others. It is literally a nightmare."
