Misco commission rejig sparks staff unrest - sources

CRN understands staff were given 'negative' commission news last night, with sources claiming some workers are eyeing the exit door

Some sales staff at Misco are understood to be eyeing the exit after changes to their commission plans were unveiled last night.

Sources claimed there is "massive unrest" at the Systemax-owned reseller after the news was announced yesterday evening at a company meeting.

"Lots [of staff] are leaving," said one anonymous source. "At 5:15pm yesterday all of their sales staff were taken in and, without prior warning, given a new commission plan which was negative and had really bad caveats in it."

CRN understands the recent move is a cost-saving measure after the UK unit was singled out by Systemax as a weak link at the end of last year.

According to another source, Misco sales staff will now only be paid commission if they hit 60 per cent of their gross profit target. Commission then goes up in a sliding scale from 61 per cent to 100 per cent, the source added, so that those who hit a theoretical target of £100,000 would earn 40 per cent of £40,000.

The change will leave staff worse off, the source said, and it comes just 18 months after a previous commission and account management rejig alienated staff.

For Systemax as a whole, Q3 net losses narrowed to $2.8m (£1.76m) from $11.6m the year before, on revenues which rose 4.2 per cent to $825.4m in the three months to 30 September. The firm's chief executive Richard Leeds pointed to "soft performance" in Europe and singled the UK out as a poor performer.

Misco declined to comment.