A PERENNIAL problem for Havelock Europa has been the unpredictability of its workstreams.

Given its focus on overhauling the interiors of shops and offices, schools and banks it has always been at the mercy of its clients, but when those clients are planning such significant outlays they are not always quick to come to a spending decision.

For Havelock Europa that can lead to extended periods when its 400-strong workforce is seriously underutilised followed by periods when the work is not only overwhelming, but costly too.

It is understandable, then, that the firm would want to introduce a system that will help it make better use of its human resources and give it more certainty over labour costs too.

Designed to match workplace resource with peaks and troughs in demand, the annualised hours system allows companies to bring staff in only when they are needed.

That makes sense from the employer’s point of view because it means they will always be getting value for money from their workforce. For staff, too, it can be beneficial because it brings some degree of flexibility to their working lives.

That said, the system would almost certainly put an end to overtime during busy periods while the perfect matching of work to workers could well lead to redundancies in the longer term.

Nevertheless, while not all workers will be happy with the arrangement, for a firm that has already cut close to 200 jobs in the past five years it may well be seen as preferable to the alternative.