Pros
The schedule was somewhat flexible, but only sometimes.
Cons
- Mandatory overtime for months even during snow days, followed by massive layoffs(?). Not just once but several massive layoffs, it's like they've never run anything before. Then before the layoffs they had you doing complete useless busy work and asked you to use your vacation leave. I'm still considering putting in a complaint for wasting government money this way. - So many people admit they can't wait to leave this place, even the best employees, but they don't know where else to go. It was a sad place to work, nobody was excited to work there. - Most of the experienced respected supervisors and quality assurance people will just give themselves the easiest work to pump up their numbers and accuracy ratings. They then give their friends the next easiest work, and play favorites beyond that. Many people complained about this, nice smart hardworking people were overlooked for promotions due to this, but nobody cared to fix this major problem. - There are people who work quality assurance who have no degree in what they are doing and have not received training in that area either, nobody (in management) cared about correcting this. - Saw quality assurance flirt with a supervisor to keep a good standing in their eyes. I couldn't find one person to vouch for this quality assurance person, everybody constantly rolled their eyes at the crazy incorrect illogical statements made by this person, but you couldn't complain since this person was flirting with the supervisor. Many people were way more qualified to have that position but apparently weren't the supervisor's type or enough of brown nosers. - If the supervisors and quality assurance people made errors, no matter how big it's a huge undertaking to correct it. They basically have nobody over these people making sure they're doing their work correct also. It's also not worth complaining as they have favorites, so you need to brown nose to hopefully get on their good side. It's demeaning to brown nose such pompous know it all dummies. There were people who relocated their families for this job and put in a good honest days work, were competent and smart, but were laid off in favor of keeping the people who cheated to make themselves look good and lacked credentials or even an interest in getting trained. - While out having drinks with supervisors and way higher ups, they admitted they thought we were all overpaid for what we did. All while people can't afford to buy a house in the city they work in, most have to move way outside of the city to afford a place. - They went from being a supposed excellent contract for the PTO to losing that contract to numerous other companies who have never classified patents. Then they had no assurance of work from the PTO, nobody knew how much work would come in the following week. It's like the worst "contract" ever made. - Top management started to ask a local attorney for work they could do. This is a law firm where they only needed one single person doing all the patent work, but Serco management is asking them for work for their 200 employees? Then they told us that was their plan to maybe save our jobs, it's like they were too stupid to realize how insane and dumb of a plan that was. That's when I realized these people were clowns, and I started to look for other jobs. I found work in the same patent field doing more detailed work for great successful clients, I'm getting great employee evaluations, making more money, better schedule, and best of all a much more *fair* evaluation process where cheaters are not rewarded. I'm glad I left this place and I feel bad for the people still there, I hope you can find a spot somewhere else where you can get appreciated.