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http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=443807
Staff may sue City law firm for outsourcing jobs to India
By Michael Harrison, Business Editor
16 September 2003
A group of employees at Allen & Overy is threatening to sue the City
law firm for breach of contract over its decision to outsource more
than half its document processing division to India.
The firm told staff last Friday that about 45 of the 85 employees in
its data processing division would be made redundant as the work was
transferred to India's fourth largest city Chennai, formerly known as
Madras.
Staff have been told that they must re-apply for their jobs and re-sit
an interview if they wish to stay at Allen & Overy. The new
outsourcing arrangements, which follow on from a six-week pilot
scheme, are due to be in place by November.
A number of employees are now seeking legal representation to bring a
claim of breach of contract arguing that they have no idea what the
new jobs will entail or what the hours and salary will be.
There is also concern that outsourcing the production of what are
often highly commercially sensitive and confidential legal documents
could compromise security.
Allen & Overy advises on takeover deals and complicated restructurings
such as the one completed recently by telecom equipment manufacturer
Marconi.
The move by Allen & Overy makes it one of a growing number of UK firms
to outsource operations to India and other developing countries.
Companies which have already blazed a trail to India include BT, Tesco
and Goldman Sachs.
An email sent to staff at Allen & Overy last week said the outsourcing
move was "the most competitive business solution" for the document
production division in terms of quality, service and overall cost
effectiveness.
Steven Chernikeeff, head of operational services at the firm, said
savings would be in excess of 1m and dismissed fears that security
would be compromised.
"I have visited India myself and the conditions are first rate - the
equivalent of western standards". He said that all documents would be
sent by virtual private network, staff in India would be dedicated to
working on Allen & Overy material and physical security at the offices
was excellent.
He said he was not aware of any legal action by staff in London but
maintained that the firm had followed "all due processes correctly".
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