AN INSURANCE fraud investigation company has announced a redundancy plan which could see its Peterborough workforce slashed by nearly 20 per cent.
Bosses at Volume Fraud Management (VFM) Services told staff at the company’s headquarters in Orton Southgate they were being forced to cut costs because of the recession.
The firm insists no decisions have yet been made about redundancies, with a consultation process looking at ways to reduce the wage bill only getting under way last Friday.
But VFM’s head of human resources, Meera Bhatt, said workers have been told that between 10 and 18 per cent of the company’s 116-strong city workforce could face losing their jobs.
She said: “We investigate insurance claims on behalf of the big insurers, and we rely on the work coming in to us from those insurance companies.
“Because of the economic downturn, insurers nationally are experiencing low claims volumes. Why that is I don’t know, especially as the pundits predicted that fraudulent claims would increase with the recession.
“The levels of work coming in to us have dropped, and we have had to examine our staffing needs as a consequence.
“We are considering implementing a redundancy programme, but no firm decisions have been made.
“The vast majority of the workforce will have secure jobs, but we have got to be realistic about the future if the volume of work is not there.”
Ms Bhatt added that alternative options to redundancy would be considered, including the possibility of existing workers being kept on with reduced salaries.
She said: “A pay cut is not something we will be enforcing, but if people come forward to say they will take reduced wages if it saves their jobs and the jobs of others, we will, of course, consider it.
“We have a lot of skilled staff and we want to retain that skill if we possibly can.”
VFM Services, which also has a base in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, opened an office in Southgate Park, Orton Southgate, in September 2004.
Since then, the Peterborough workforce has doubled from 58 to 116.
