Trainees in Limbo
Suit a bit tatty, car falling to bits? Shrinking blance sheets and withering cash flows ensure new purchases face indecision. And it’s not just TV’s or iPods that are hanging in the balance; the Gazette has revealed that Kevin Poulter, former chairman of the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD), said some firms were waiting until the last week of the contract before telling trainees whether they would be kept on. And JLD chair Heidi Sandy said trainees had to ‘wait …
Suit a bit tatty, car falling to bits? Shrinking blance sheets and withering cash flows ensure new purchases face indecision. And it’s not just TV’s or iPods that are hanging in the balance; the Gazette has revealed that Kevin Poulter, former chairman of the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD), said some firms were waiting until the last week of the contract before telling trainees whether they would be kept on. And JLD chair Heidi Sandy said trainees had to ‘wait in limbo’ until firms made their decision.
Waiting until things improve or the hand is forced isn’t going to hurt a new microwave’s feelings. But leaving trainees dangling until the last minute probably will. The Gazette went on to note that one NQ caller to LawCare’s helpline (which it described as typical) was made ’sick with anxiety’ after being made to wait 5 months for redundancies to be decided. Not nice.
On the flip side; giving stress-coping mechanisms a run out just before committing to a legal career could be a good thing. Glass half-full.
More trainee tribulations:
September 22, 2009
this is not at all surprising. if trainees find that stressful then they are going to find a legal career hard going, it doesn’t get any better as you go on; the things you have to worry about just change and become even more worrying when they don’t go smoothly
September 22, 2009
Exactly. The person who became ill over that should consider if she is really cut out for corporate life.
September 22, 2009
A lot of assistants and associates have been waiting constantly over the last year to see if, when and who will face redundancy. Just something else to worry about in the grand scheme of things.