Don’t forget that there’s also this thing where staff on the older but better contract - get hounded to quit early, rather than keep the old “dead man’s shoes” job going until retirement, “Job For Life Enforcement” you might call it.
Perhaps the better runs might start going out to agency rather than the old hands, or discipline might be tightened up among those that have done over a decade service already, since each such person “got rid of on a pretence” - saves the firm five figures in redundancy payments, don’t forget…
Getting rid of people for too many sickies/infringements or even episodes of insubordination - are also commonplace, especially where other “old hands” have since become “poachers-■■■-gamekeepers”, and know all one’s dodges and get-arounds that at one point in the past - might have kept one out of trouble…
Racing to the bottom - brings a reckoning that comes with poor reputation that once gained - is rather difficult to shake off.
Are there any “Good Reputation” firms left actually? 