I would not advise anybody to register with Tate Recruitment in Cambridge. They are only contractually obliged to find three months of work for each temp, each year, and most of the time, they don't even find that. Even if you respond to an advertisement on their website or window and call them, they tell you they will contact you when something comes in, and you get nothing. These things are par for the course for Employment Agencies.

However, recently, I had an ongoing contract, via Tate, with a very good company. Initially, I worked four days a week, and the company were so happy with my work, that they increased my hours to full time, and shortly afterwards interviewed me for a permanent full time job.

It was year end, and Tate had requested more money from the company, for providing temp services. This increase in their fees resulted in the company cancelling the entire contract with Tate.

The day this happened, Tate rang me and told me that I had lost the contract, because I was "too chatty". At the time, I did not know that Tate's actions had caused the cancellation, so they left me no choice but to accept the blame. I was left stunned, disappointed and confused. Tate told me a barefaced lie.

I found out much later what Tate had done, from the company in which I had been temping. Not only did Tate cost me the contract without any notice whatsoever, they cost me a permanent job. Having left me high and dry, and lied through their teeth, Tate have not found me a single days work since, despite having chased them and applied for contracts via their website and their office.

This is one temp that Tate have lost.

Permanently.