In September, all receptionists who work for Facility Management Center via Sparq were informed that from December onwards, another service provider will be staffing the reception areas in the TU/e ​​buildings. On October 1, this new provider – Spirit – came by for a short introduction and everyone was invited to apply for the very same position many had held for years. The receptionists that are directly employed by TU/e aren’t affected by the decision.

Monique* is one of the receptionists that will be out on the street. She tells us that one day after the introduction, vacancies for all of their positions were already posted online. And she also heard about externals applying for them.

A week after the individual application interviews, the receptionists receive an email saying Spirit needs more time to decide the outcome. In the log she keeps, Monique notes the following: “We can’t help but feel they first want to know how many external applicants they can hire and how many of the current receptionists they need to bridge the gap and train the new people.”

When the outcome is finally announced, it’s bad news for the entire group. None of the current receptionists will be receiving an offer from Spirit. Spirit’s HR advisor indicates that all of the conversations revealed ‘that the current employment conditions that apply to everyone at Sparq differ from those at Spirit in a number of ways. After careful investigation and deliberation, and with attention to all relevant aspects, we took the well-considered decision not to make an offer to anyone who is currently working via Sparq. The employment conditions are simply too far apart for this.’ It concerns hourly wages, the end-of-year bonus, and allowances for working irregular hours.

Reached out

Monique reached out to the University Council, which alerted TU/e trade union representative Jan Vleeshouwers, and the Integrity & Social Safety Desk, which referred her to TU/e’s ombuds for staff Anna Soedira.

“I think it’s harsh and heartless from TU/e,” says Monique. “We work for an external agency, but really feel like part of the TU/e community and have always been proud of the university. Now, all of a sudden, our contracts will be terminated on December 31 and the new people will start on December 1. TU/e always says it wants to be a good employer, but I think it’s being an antisocial employer in this case. Some of those 28 staff members are breadwinners.”

However, a TU/e spokesperson says it concerned a careful tender procedure, with six bidders, including the current supplier. “Spirit scored particularly well on quality and was therefore awarded the contract. The company is known as a high-quality service provider in the region. We think it’s important to point out that TU/e isn’t financially benefitting from awarding this contract to a different provider than our current one.”

“Spirit itself is responsible for its employees,” the spokesperson continues. “As TU/e, we’re not meddling in selection processes and employment conditions, which are Spirit’s responsibility. This means the company isn’t obligated to take any existing reception staff on board. Even though our own TU/e receptionists are staying, we are losing a number of familiar faces in the Sparq employees that are leaving. We understand that this isn’t good news for the Sparq employees, nor for many of our own staff. We appreciate the great commitment and involvement the Sparq employees have shown in the past years.”

Fellow receptionist José* doesn’t think it’s a wise move by TU/e. “A lot of knowledge is lost if a reception is only staffed with new people. Every building has its own situation and it takes time to get to know everything for people from outside TU/e.”

*Full name known to editorial staff.