I work within the UK construction industry for an engineering firm and we too are cutting back.  We are also regularly hearing news on the grape-vine of other companies within the industry making redundancies etc.  We have been told to expect it to affect our area of work by approximately 50% before things start to look better.

It's not a nice position to be in and we are hoping the cuts we have made will be sufficient to see us through (fingers crossed) but you never can tell.

As a company we are trying to remain positive and look to the future by updating our systems and procedures in the hope that we have solid foundations in place when thing begin to get better (whenever that may be)

I agree that, in the current climate, jobs are very thin on the ground and the number of candidates applying for the positions is on the rise which doesn't help.  I also think that prior to the crunch there were a lot of people applied for admin roles to pay the bills because they were able to turn a computer on and didn't know what else to do, however that's a whole other topic of conversation.

I work for a consulting engineers in the north of England and although we haven't seen the effects directly as yet, a few of the companies we work with have with work stopping on some of the large projects in the area.

Luckily we are making plans for the future and looking for savings etc where possible

Hopefully we will weather the storm and come out the other side without any adverse effects.

Debbie

I did start one a few years back when we were looking for staff but since then the company have relocated and therefore most of the information is out of date.

Really need to find time to get it updated as we are looking for staff again and it would be useful to have the information to hand when they start.

Thanks for your advice, since my original post things have moved on and I thought I would update you all.

I did inform my boss of the situation.  Although he was a little shocked he said that he was glad I had tld him and to keep him informed of any developments.  He also mentioned that one of the houses he owns was available for rent if she was interested.  As it turns out she has found a flat closer to the office and is looking to move in the next week.

Also, it was our salary reviews last week and I'm pleased to say that she was rewarded for her work, which has helped out considerably.

Hi

I'm looking for some advice with regard to a small problem that could turn out to be nothing, or alternatively could be a major problem.

I work as PA/Office Manager heading up a small admin team of 4 staff, one of whom is experiencing some personal problems and has mentioned that she may move out of the area as she doesn't really have any friends or family around.

I personally don't want this to happen as she is very good at her job and from past experience I know how hard it is to find reliable hard-working staff.  Another , maybe slightly selfish reason for wanting her to stay is because if she leaves I'll be the one who ends up picking up her work until we find a replacement.

This has left me with two dilemmas.

The first is should I get involved and try to convince her to stay and help her as much as I can, or should I just let her sort herself out.

The second is should I tell bossie about the situation or should I wait and see what happens - it may turn out that she doesn't leave after all and if this is case I don't want to trouble him.  However, if she does decide it's best for her to leave I don't want bossie getting all mad because he wasn't kept informed.

Any advice you can give would be most appreciated.

Debbie