A big thank you to the anonymous Hicksons Lawyers spy who has lifted the lid on some very dodgey corporate fat-cat behaviour.
Hicksons Lawyers is a 20-partner firm based in Sydney. The firm’s chosen corporate wank buzz words are:
Totally committed. Always direct.
Direct indeed. This from the anonymous spy:
… morale amongst the support staff at Hicksons Lawyers was perhaps at its lowest after HR crticized a junior receptionist for an insignificant error made reviewing staff pay. This task was wrongly delegated by HR to the junior receptionist without seeking the managing partner’s approval. HR are unfortunately far too busy reviewing daily cctv footage of staff entering and leaving the premises to actually perform their proper tasks and if staff take too long to return to their seats, they are hauled in and cross-examined as to their whereabouts. They have no time to do any HR related work. The HR manager, however, has ample time to twitter about her interior design business during work hours. The profanity used to reprimand the poor receptionist was loud and overheard by a number of employees.
One day later, the receptionist resigned and HR was asked to take “leave” until the day after the receptionist left and then to keep a low profile until the whole thing blew over.
More recently, the service centre received a large bounty of chocolates from the firm’s paper supplier thanking them for their business and hard work over the year. Many boxes of ferrero rocher chocolates were received with 48 pieces in each box. “Chocmania,” we yelled! The service centre staff were looking forward to the delicious gift until HR confiscated them and re-distributed them to the support staff with a small print out of a note which read: “Happy Wednesday”! This was HR’s way to lift the morale amongst the support staff – dodgily re-gifting service center chocies! Unfortunately, the chocolates had to be consumed in August, as they were set to expire at the end of September. It seems that the GFC is still in full swing at Hicksons Lawyers: they can’t even afford to buy their own chocolates to lift morale.
Another story which is truly disturbing involves staff who smoke. HR recently tried to get them to sign a contract to refrain from smoking during work hours. It seems HR think smoking is a habit, not an addiction. Yet another story involves internet usage at the firm. All staff’s internet usage is monitored on a weekly basis. If staff exceed a mere 50 mb a week, they are hauled in and asked to explain. You are presented with a report outlining your top five websites.
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50 mbs?
The only other place in the world where they have these type of workplace policies is North Korea.
Or China…
Or Australia…
HaHa
Or Fawlty Towers
I worked there many years ago and the morale was dreadful then, hate to see what it is like now.
It’s worse than dreadful………
I wonder if this firm will implement a policy banning staff from moonlighting as interior decorators?
I wonder if they will implement a policy banning the managing partner and the HR department who are in cahoots with one another…
I wonder more going on than just “cahoots” between the managing partnerJJM and HR
Your probably right about JJM and KKT. Menawhile, there website is still down!
Damn – Damn – the website still down – Totally Commited & Always direct – instead of using IT resources to monitor internal stuff, maybe they should use IT to get the website working
obviously IT is cahoots with them both – IT has only got worse since LBM and GAT left
Agree current Hicksons .. Bring back both of them and ex-HR MAK
Bring back the Guv!!!!
It all bollocks
Make everything right and bring back Jimbo.