Wednesday 3 August 2011

Redundancy in an IT dept and UOP

Excuse me while I take some mind altering substances and indulge in an off-IT topic. I've been made redundant in Switzerland where the employer can state not liking the colour of your socks (this at least would have been more acceptable than the zero reasons I received) as a valid excuse.
I've been warned that the Swiss Unemployment Agency work you harder than a small Indian boy in a Primark factory by scaring the bejesus out of everyone and forcing them to look for work 24 hours a day. I now have UOP or more commonly known as 'Unemployment Office Phobia' in Switzerland. It's almost like being captured by the Germans and being tortured. Let me
give you an example.
During monthy meetings I have to present evidence of employment applications. Here is a loose re-enactment of my first meeting.
I'll use the fictitious name Philip Peters Stevens.

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Unemployment Officer (UO) - "So Miiiister Stevens, you claim to have applied for a job at Nestle. Hmmmm, I phoned up my good friend Herr Hitler at Nestle and he says your application does not exist (hand violently hits table). Explain yourself"

Philip (slightly sweating) - "Here's my application printout, correspondence from Nestle and a sample of my blood just in case I'm hospitalised during this meeting"

UO (Slowly coming forward to me, gradually talking louder and spitting into my face whilst talking) - "This is not good enough Miiiister Stevens or is it Miiiister Peters. Are you two people? Are you a English spy?

Philip (Wiping saliva from face) - "Yes, I've been sent by MI5 to determine how you keep your unemployment rate so low.
Not rocket science really"

UO - "English humour hey. Well lets see if we can extract the truth using, hmmmm, conVENtional methods" (Out comes a set of pliers.....some still with teeth inside them)

Philip - "Ok,Ok, I lied. I didn't phone them, but I sent them an email"

UO - "You also claim to have registered with 100 job agencies in one day. How is this possible Miiiister Stevens"

Philip - "Werr I kan tel yu if yu tak the plaars out of ma moth. Thanks. I have a very fast internet connection and in between downloading films to help with Employment Interviews like this, such as "Escape to Victory" and "Schlinders List", I managed to apply to all 100 Internet agencies"

UO - "Miiiiste Stevens. You have lied and will be deducted 99% of your first cheque. All future meetings will also be conducted via a lie
detector test and under hynopsis"

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Going back to my redundancy, the IT Director deemed my role dispensible only to replace me with two experts in my field doing exactly the same job. From this, I can only conclude that the two male IT Directors were having an affair which I inadvertently stumbled upon and it would be easier to remove me from the company. Well, they say ligtning doesn't strike twice. That's bull, this is the third time it's happend to me. I will now only apply to firms where the IT Directors are female.