UTILITIES giant E.ON was today criticised over it's treatment of staff by a former employee as the firm continues its withdrawal from Ipswich.A total of 339 staff based at E.ON's Ipswich offices are facing redundancy after the firm announced last October it was pulling the plug on its operations in the town.
UTILITIES giant E.ON was today criticised over it's treatment of staff by a former employee as the firm continues its withdrawal from Ipswich.
A total of 339 staff based at E.ON's Ipswich offices are facing redundancy after the firm announced last October it was pulling the plug on its operations in the town.
Kerry Ann Bestow, 19, left the firm on January 14 after successfully finding a new job, but said she was unhappy with the way she was treated by E.ON following the announcement that the Ipswich operation would close.
Ms Bestow, who worked in the sales division, said support from E.ON towards helping employees find a new job was not as comprehensive as staff were hoping.
She said: “They went about it by giving people time off the phone to look for a job online but we could have done that in our own time.
“There was no after care and the only people who helped me were a recruitment company I contacted myself.
“To be honest I wasn't very impressed.
“However I hope other employee's received better aftercare than myself.”
A spokesman for E.ON said: “We're working hard with recruitment and outplacement consultants to support colleagues at this difficult time and a significant number continue to find alternative employment as they work towards their leaving date.
“We want colleagues to stay with us until their leaving date so we continue to provide a high level of service to our customers - this is recognised with a retention bonus and is happening in many cases.
“Colleagues who have left us can contact us to discuss any outstanding issues by using the telephone numbers on the information they have received during the process.”
The site will eventually be vacated by the end of June. So far around 60 staff have left the firm.
Are you an E.ON employee? How do you feel you have been treated? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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