Can you feel the cuts?

As the cuts begin to bite I’m beginning to hear ever more fiendish and creative ways for people to find themselves “down-sized”.  One friend was invited to re-apply for her job (she wasn’t aware that she had resigned) with the added excitement of her pay being tied to the amount of new business she brought in. To her credit she stood her ground and pointed out that if she’d wanted a job in sales she’d have worn a sharper suit. Then there was the architect who was given the heave-ho on the grounds that her role was surplus to requirements – but would she mind, before she went, just drawing up a job spec and recruiting someone to do her job on a freelance basis. Nice. Now it seems companies are splitting jobs into two to avoid making redundancies. My friend Debbie revealed that she and her fellow manager will be working one month on and one month off from next week in an attempt to prevent one of them ending up on the dole   As she said, it could be great – if only everyone else played along. But outrageously she wasn’t able to persuade her bank to accept a mortgage cheque every other month, and her kids are still demanding food every day. And I thought we were all in this together! Are you feeling the cuts? Let me know! Amanda Scary statistic of the day Turn that light off! According to the Telegraph the average family will be paying £1,400 a year on gas and electricity prices go up in August. Barbecue anyone? Deal of the day: To celebrate the appointment of  Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson as Children’s Laureate KidStart is offering a Gruffalo Trunki for just £28