Adecco - Don't give a damn about temps (Adecco)

Member Name: Spaceminx

Product:	Adecco
Date:	27/05/08 (539 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Taught me to be assertive

Disadvantages: Stress, palaver, dishonesty

I've been signed up with Adecco for 3 months or so. My initial interview was very quick - a bit too quick. The lady I spoke to was very nice but went through the process very sketchily and quickly. I wasn't asked to do any tests and wasn't given a copy of my contract (which I thought they were obliged to do). I was offered this 'Travel Plus' thing to sign up for where I don't pay tax on my travel expenses. So far so good.

A couple of weeks later I was sent on my first assignment. No problems there until it came time to send in my timesheet. I hadn't received one in the post and rang the branch to ask what I needed to do. They said they'd fax a copy to me. It didn't arrive and I phoned again. Same result. I called into the branch on my way home and they said there'd been a tech problem and they'd sort it out on Monday. I knew I was being fobbed off but couldn't really do anything about it.

On Monday came more ringing round to get a timesheet. After being told yet again that they'd fax one to me I got a bit shirty whereupon the lady told me not to worry. Not to worry about potentially not being paid??!! Eventually I got a timesheet and I sent it in late but still got paid on time, thankfully. Next week I still didn't get a timesheet in the post. This time I'd photocopied the previous week's sheet and rang to ask if that was ok if I just changed the date. Yes it was.

Incidentally, despite being told that two particular women at the agency were responsible for me, neither of them would take my calls. I was always told they were busy/in a meeting/on another call. Yeah right.

Towards the end of that assignment I was told about a new one in two weeks time. Someone else would ring me back the next week and confirm. Needless to say, by Thursday the next week they still hadn't contacted me. A girl called that morning & asked me if I was still looking for work & I asked what had happened about that new assignment. She said she'd find out and ring me back. At 3pm she still hadn't called. I rang back, somewhat annoyed and wouldn't take "I'll call you back." for an answer. I explained, as calmly as possible, that I simply wanted confirmation that the assignment was still going ahead. I got my answer, yes.

I'm getting quite angry now that every time I call to try to sort something important out, no one wants to take my call and no one rings me back when they say they will. I frequently feel like I'm being lied to and fobbed off.

Then it was arranged that I sit a one off test which I would be paid for, through another branch. I got a text message to ring that branch & confirm the date & time of my test. A week later & I got another (after I'd already given them the info the first time). Then I got a phone call from the branch asking me to confirm I was taking the test. Then I got a text asking me to hand in my confirmation form/slip at the branch after I'd done the test. I assumed that meant the branch who'd arranged the test in the first place. Last week I got a call from my original branch asking me to hand in the form otherwise I wouldn't get paid. I explained that I handed it in to the other branch. Nice of them to specify which branch I was to hand it in to.

Last week I called in to hand in my P45 which I'd just received that morning. Firstly some American woman who I'd never seen before spoke to me like I was scum then the woman I was supposed to speak to made some comment that she wasn't expecting it. As though I was supposed to ring & make an appointment just to hand in a form?!

And now the dubious debacle of the Travel Plus scheme. The payment is taken out of your wage then put back in as a non-taxable income. What they didn't tell me when I signed up was that there was an admin charge. So I've just rang up to find out what its all about and to possibly opt out of the scheme. For once the person I spoke to was helpful and willing to talk (god bless you Kimberley). She explained that I wasn't actually losing any money even though it looked like I was. I took another look at it and she's right but I really don't understand their maths. I'm no Carol Vorderman but I'm not a dunce. She offered to explain it to me properly if I wanted to call in at any time. Finally someone who gives a damn!

All in all, not a great experience. Hopefully things will improve with the new girl (Kim) and I'll actually get assistance and honesty out of them. The website makes out that they treat the temps with as much respect as the clients but in my experience that's a load of rubbish.

Summary: Be prepared to fobbed off but don't take no for an answer