In today’s market, we are constantly hearing about redundancies.  Every other call we receive is another person urgently searching for a job.

Recently, believe it or not, we have experienced ‘redundant’ candidates being removed from our shortlists by the client, as they feel “it’s the weaker candidates who get asked to leave”.  Of course, this can be the case, but not in the majority of cases.

There are many factors why people are made redundant.  Some genuine reasons why our current candidates have been made redundant include:

• Sanctions on Iraq meant the company’s core business was lost overnight in November, leading to the office losing the majority of its staff
• Removal of ‘regional offices’ to a leaner operation where only country offices continue to operate
• Downturn in oil price has led to some companies having their profit margin squeezed so much that it’s not viable to continue with as many staff, and some companies closing their offices in the GCC for good.
• Emiratisation – in certain local companies, some good people are phased out once a strong Emirati has been found to take over the role
• Companies not being paid for the work done, or products they have sold, means cash flow is very tight and certain layers of management are targeted to leave
• Shared Service Centres being created in cheaper countries, so whole teams here are losing their jobs
• ‘Highly paid’ workers being replaced by lower level and lower paid employees
• M&A taking place – Companies do not need 2 of everything… One person, often from the smaller company or who has been with the company for the least time, ends up without a job

Therefore, we are humbly asking employers to please put yourself in the shoes of these unfortunate people who are trying to support families and further their careers.  There is no reason to eliminate a candidate just because they were made redundant.  Please meet them first, and then decide if they’re the right fit for your organisation.

These candidates who could join your company immediately, would be delighted to start work again. If you are hiring right now and have an urgent requirement, please call us and we can all help to change peoples lives!