Agencies.... happy to speak to you whilst you are earning them money, but as soon as anything even approaches hard work, they just shut-up shop and hope you go away. I wonder how many of these 'premier' agencies have laid off their consultants lately, probably none as they use it as a tax dodge anyway. They are down there with Estate agents and Polititians.
But now the major companies have HR departments, not personnel departments, they need someone else to do their hiring and firing. An agency can fire you with scant regard to employee's rights...... Redundancies? Thing of the past.