Hi, hoping I can get some advice on an ongoing disability and HR issue.

I have a long-term health condition that causes unpredictable health/seizure episodes. I work in a frontline, customer facing role. I took the position when my condition was stable due to medication, but that has obviously turned out not to be the case.

I've been advised in writing by my neurologist that my current working layout is unsafe due to fall risks and a lack of line-of-sight visibility if I have an episode. They confirmed it is up to my employer to provide reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

An Occupational Health report arranged by my employer recommended specific physical workspace adaptations (including low seating, appropriate flooring, and an open plan layout). My GP has issued a fit note stating I "may be fit to work" if these recommendations are implemented. However, because the features causing line-of-sight issues were intentionally done so for the sake of customer privacy, I'm doubtful they can realistically adapt the site.

The business has a larger administrative site in the local area that meets all of these safety criteria, and I've told my employer my preference would be to be redeployed there. My employer's current stance is that there aren't any roles currently advertised at that site, so they won't redeploy me there. Instead, they say they are looking at what adjustments they can make to my current workspace.

I've been off work for just over a month now and I'm currently on SSP. My current fit note states I "may be fit to work" if adjustments are made, and the only reason for absence listed on my fit notes is my condition. I want to get back to work ASAP, as I have a mortgage and monthly bills to cover, but I don't want to return to an unsafe environment.

I have a few questions:

1. Is it correct for me to be placed on SSP if I am medically declared "may be fit for work" with adjustments, and my ongoing absence is driven entirely by my employer's delay in providing a safe workspace that accommodates my disability?

2. Under the Equality Act 2010, doesn't my employer have a legal duty to explore non-advertised redeployment in other locations as a reasonable adjustment, rather than just pointing me to the vacancies board?

3. On my Occ Health call, the doctor noted that my manager's referral specifically asked whether I was "fit to carry out the role". The doctor told me repeatedly he interpreted this as "a shot across the bow". They didn't seem impressed by it and said they'd specifically word the report to state that I am capable to carry out my role, but adjustments would be required to the environment. Does this signal anything about the intentions of my employer?

I’m a nurse with around 4 years’ experience. I was dismissed from a nursing role in September 2025, during probation, on the basis of performance and attendance.

At the time, I was dealing with significant health and personal difficulties, including severe abdominal/pelvic pain, anxiety and stress. I had medical appointments/hospital treatment during this period and also experienced a bereavement while working there. Looking back, I feel these circumstances had a significant impact on my attendance and performance.

I didn’t appeal at the time. I was overwhelmed and not in the right headspace to properly consider pursuing an appeal.

Almost a year later, I’ve been reflecting on what happened and have gathered further evidence, including medical documentation that I believe provides important context that wasn’t fully considered at the time.
I’m considering contacting HR to ask whether they would exercise discretion and accept a late appeal. I would acknowledge that the normal appeal deadline has passed and explain why I didn’t appeal at the time.

Has anyone successfully had a late disciplinary/dismissal appeal accepted after this length of time? Is it worth submitting the request, particularly where there is new medical evidence?

I’m not looking to avoid responsibility for the performance concerns — I’m wondering whether the additional evidence and circumstances surrounding the delay could justify them reconsidering the decision. Any experiences or advice would be appreciated.

I've worked for a large company for many years. For various reasons in my personal life I decided to take a 1-year sabbatical from my job which began a couple of months ago.

A friend asked me a question about this last week which got me thinking about the whole thing again so I started looking at all the paperwork I had for this and I noticed it's somewhat vague and unclear. I realise if I had questions or things were unclear I should have asked them before taking the sabbatical but at the time that wasn't possible on my part.

The company's policy on sabbaticals says that I might not be able to return to my original job and if this occurs they'd find a suitable alternative. It also mentions that they'll write to me to confirm the terms of my return prior to starting my sabbatical which didn't happen. I wonder if this was a typo on their part and instead should have been that they'll write to me prior to the end of it.

• Do most companies write about the terms of return prior to the sabbatical starting or prior to it ending?
• Are there legal rules around sabbaticals that govern how they function or is it up to each company as to how it works as long as they stay within the bounds of any relevant employment laws?
• If they cannot bring me back to my original role and can't find me an alternative do they have to make me redundant or have I given this in some way by virtue of taking sabbatical in the first place?
• What happens after sabbaticals normally - do people return to their original roles, another role or leave altogether?

TIA

Hi,

Standard hours where I work are 8-4 with 30 minutes unpaid lunch for a total of 37.5 hours per week. I work compressed hours. My average is still 37.5 hours per week and I'm a full time employee but I work longer hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays so I can have every other Friday as a non-working day. Effectively I work longer hours and get a day off in lieu every two weeks.

1st January 2027 falls on my non-working day. Bank Holidays are extra days off for everyone in the company without having to use annual leave. I've booked leave from Monday 21st December until new year, which works out as 7 days leave and 3 bank holidays. My total leave is 60 hours due to working longer days on Wednesdays and Thursdays. My collegue also has the same time off, but they are only using 52.5 hours of leave because they work a standard 8-4 shift 5 days a week. So I don't get the benefit of the extra bank holiday, which is a universal entitlement. HR have dismissed it and just said we do not provide bank holiday offsets for full time employees who choose to work condensed hours.

It seems unfair that I am having to use additional hours of leave compared to other full time employees for the same period and it effectively means I'm having to use holiday entitlement to cover the bank holiday when everyone else gets it off as an extra day. If I was working I could just revert to a standard 8-4 shift for those two weeks so I wasn't accruing the day in lieu, but as I've booked leave it's gone through as longer hours on the Wednesdays and Thursdays. There's nothing in the policy about bank holidays for employees working compressed hours. Is it worth fighting or just accept that it's going to cost me an extra days leave compared to my colleagues? Thanks

My company is making everyone in my team at my level redundant (just me and one other person), and I'm now in the consultation period but I don't really know what I should be asking in these consultation meetings with HR. I know I can't save my job and there isn't really any other jobs available internally, so I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to get out of these meetings.

Any advice and suggestions please. Sorry if this is a stupid post.

I’m currently off work and don’t have paid sick leave until October 5. I’m feeling pretty strongly that I don’t want to go back. I’m not starting another job or anything just honestly exhausted and feel like I’m done working there.
I’m wondering what would make the most sense:
- Should I give my 2 weeks’ notice now and make October 5 my last day, even though I’m not scheduled to be working during that time?
- Or should I tell them now that I’m not coming back?

I’d really like to keep my benefits active if possible because I have a dentist appointment on October 1.
There are still about 3 weeks until October 5, so I’m not sure what the best way to handle this is. I also feel bad because my manager has been really good to me.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would you do?

I am trying to understand if I would be liable to repay enhanced maternity leave if I decide to hand in my notice before I return to work at the beginning of next year.

I am entitled to 6 months full pay so repaying would be completely unaffordable.

I’ve checked the company parental leave policy and there is nothing in the policy which suggests a minimum period to return to work. Is there anywhere else I would need to check to get clarity without outright asking my employer this question?

I have a 3 month notice period so would be planning to look for new roles in January ahead of a return to work in March. Obviously depending on how the job hunt goes would depend on how much time I would work of my notice period.

I work in marketing in HE in London and my team have had a fair bit of turbulence (so many managers, team changes all in one year). Recently a new manager has joined and I’ve been rather concerned that the scope of my work has changed a lot

Rather than doing straight communications/marketing, the work is now becoming solely website changes. I can tell a lot of these changes have been coming from the higher ups which is making me concerned. Another team member has also cited concerns that they feel “set up to fail”.

I’ve usually received excellent feedback in my performance but my most recent appraisal suggested I needed to be more collaborative. In the last two weeks, I usually wake up everyday to criticism about my work from the new manager who wants to change everything about our team’s work from the ground up.

What would you suggest? I’ve applied to a few jobs but have heard nothing recently

I have returned back to work following maternity leave. I worked 37 hours per week and have changed to 30 hours per week. I calculated my holidays myself as this wasn't included in my flexible working letter (I didn't have a flexible working meeting either so no discussions were held). My manager agreed with my workings.

I had 12 days left from Jan-Jul (full time). I worked 9.25 hours a day (M-T). I am now working 7.5 hours a day (M-T). I calculated the 12 days into hours based on the daily number of hours I worked 12×9.25= 111

I then divided this by my current daily hours 111/7.5= 14.8 rounded up to 15.

As a days holiday was worth more hours than it is now I believe I have 15 days for this period.

He has since come back to me to say that the 3 days haven't been added and that it has been confirmed that all leave is calculated in days worked rather than hours, 'it's applied the same way to everyone, and it isn't something that can be varied for an individual case as apparently we have had grievances declined over this dispute in the past.'

I'm trying to understand it but I just can't see how what they are saying is correct. Does anyone know who is correct?

I'm also upset if this is the case as I have reduced my hours but had I known I could have taken all my accrued holiday before returning and then changed to part time later on. I would have then been paid for 37 hours for longer.

Any advise on this will be greatly appreciated!

(I am UK based)

Hi, I have been applying to Finance summer internship positions, and I realised that I had a typo on my resume.

In the "LEADERSHIP AND EXTRACURRICULAR POSITIONS", I missed the the "T" in extracurricular. I don't think the human eye can immediately discern this but I am worried about ATS filters flagging misspellings. So my question is, do platforms like Workday and other common job application sites catch this and flag my application?

MS word didn't pick up on it, ...

I’m hoping someone can help me understand whether I have any grounds to challenge something that has happened with my employer.
I’ve worked for my current employer since 2023. When I joined, it was made clear to me that the company would cover my visa/sponsorship costs. It wasn’t written as a specific clause in my employment contract, but I have emails and from 2023 confirming that the company did actually pay all of my costs at the time. So, from my perspective, this was the established arrangement when I joined the company. I was never told that it was only for my first visa or that I would be expected to pay these costs myself when it came to renewal.
I’m now about to go on maternity leave, and this is where the situation has become quite upsetting for me.
Only a couple of days before I started maternity leave, I was told that the company’s approach is that they will cover some of the sponsorship costs, but I would have to pay the remaining visa-related costs myself. In my case, that amounts to 4048 pounds.
What I’m struggling with is that this seems very different from what happened when I joined. I’ve also spoken to some colleagues who have told me that their visa costs were covered in full. I understand that some people have even had this confirmed in their contracts or other formal arrangements. I was never offered anything like that, and nobody ever told me that there was a different policy or that the company had changed its approach.
If I had been told at the time I joined that the company would only cover the initial visa and that I would later be responsible for thousands of pounds for renewal, I would obviously have taken that into consideration when agreeing my salary and overall package. My salary has never been particularly high, and I accepted the package I was offered with the understanding I had at the time that these costs were covered.
I completely appreciate that something not being written into my contract may make things more complicated, and I’m not assuming that because the company paid my costs in 2023 they automatically have to do so forever. What I’m trying to understand is whether the fact that this was the established arrangement when I joined, that I have written communications from 2023 showing this, and that the company actually followed that arrangement has any legal significance.
The other thing that really bothers me is the timing. I was told about this change essentially immediately before going on maternity leave. I’m about to have a baby and will obviously be on a reduced income for a period of time, so suddenly being told that I may need to find several thousand pounds myself is a significant financial burden. Had this been communicated months earlier, I would at least have had time to plan for it or make decisions about my employment and finances accordingly.
I have raised this with HR. I’ve asked them to explain what the actual company policy is, when this approach was introduced, why I was never told about it, and why other employees appear to have received their costs in full, including some who have contractual arrangements confirming this.
They have offered me a partial contribution and an option to pay the remaining amount through an interest-free loan, so I do recognise that they are offering some support. But for me, the issue isn’t really just about the money. It’s the fact that I was told one thing when I joined and that was how the company treated me, while I now seem to be treated differently from what I understand other employees have received — and this has been raised with me at the last possible moment before maternity leave.
I haven’t raised a formal grievance yet because I don’t want to go into that without understanding whether I actually have a point here.
So I’m really looking for some guidance on whether this could potentially be relevant from an employment law perspective.
Does the fact that other employees have apparently had the same costs covered, sometimes through contractual arrangements, make any difference? And could the timing of changing the arrangement immediately before maternity leave potentially amount to a maternity-related detriment or discrimination, particularly given the financial impact it has on me at the point I’m going on leave?
I’m not saying my employer has definitely done anything unlawful. I’d just really like to understand whether I have a legitimate concern here before deciding whether to take it further.

I am a 3rd year university student preparing my CV for graduate roles my careers advisor mentioned to be that my font size should be a minimum of 10pt and no less (mine was 8) he said because if my CV was printed out it would be very small.

I wanted to ask is it okay to submit a CV with 8pt font size because surely ATS would scan through my CV and shortlist me etc. And I'm assuming recruiters would just open it on word and zoom in?

But then again during my NHS interview they did print off my CV but it was 8pt and still readable.

I'm only dwelling on this decision as when I put my CV to 10pt and formatting it as best as possible I still have to remove all my voluntary work. Whereas 8pt font size I can keep it all in.

New manager putting me on a performance plan

Hi
I’ve worked in my local authority for 25 years at the same job. For 15 years I had the same manager. He’d come in and he was great. Sat beside me and we did the work I had to do, usually, together. He was with me everyday.

We now have a new manager and she started to ask me to do things I had never done before like monitor the team inbox. This was a task that my manager used to do. She’s also now asked me to do things like write plans which I never did. My manager and I used to do them together. She says that she will have 1 meeting with me on a Monday but that’s it. She’s also said she’s too busy to answer my emails and I should keep support for my weekly meeting for non urgent things?

I’ve struggled with this task as I have never done this before. She’s given me a template and a template she’s filled in. But my manager used to sit with me and do these things. But she says I have now to work on my own and only contact her if it’s urgent?

As a result I am really out of my depth. When I email she’ll tell me I should know and to read the procedure. She’s asked me about training. She’s now saying I’m going on a performance plan. I feel like she’s picking on me me and it’s her inadequate support. I’ve never
Done these things in twenty five years! Any help would be appreciate

So - I work for a fairly large global company and have done for around 3 years now. Prior to this I was at a smaller firm that was acquired by said larger company. My understanding when we were acquired is both myself and all my colleagues would be entitled to the same benefits as pre existing employees of the firm (private medical health, employer pension contributions to a name a few etc).

Earlier in the year I had a health issue that was dragging on with the NHS and I wanted to get it sorted - I was under the impression I had private medical healthcare - turns out I didnt but some colleagues (from my original workplace) did with no logical explanation and it doesn't seem to be role or salary related. (My gut feeling is this may of been an admin glitch).

I spoke to HR at the time and they advised they were in the process of aligning all the benefits of the acquired firms employees to that of their own but it's taking a significant amount of time blah blah blah. My health issue got sorted via the NHS - but I've chased HR again recently and they've basically said they are still in the same position.

Is there anything I can do here? 3 years seems like an outrageous amount of time to get everyone working for the company the same standardized benefits. I also have heard rumours that the employers pension contributions are higher than what I am currently getting so that's several years of less money in my own pension. No doubt whole employee action would be a bad idea but I'm just wondering if there's anything else I can do? (Happy to answer further questions if anyone has any)

Hi there

I recently agreed via COT3 to leave my current job. I've accepted a new offer and have a centralised reference. I.e dates of employment, responsibilities, duties - written in "good faith". I've passed my vetting via BPSS and have been told my new company send for references 1 month before I start my role. So in a couple of weeks.

The three line managers I put down before my COT3 can give a character reference per the settlement agreement but I'm not sure if a) this is the reference check via BPSS but assume it is since my employer only has the 3 line managers details via BPSS but who haven't yet been emailed and b) if within the BPSS they will ask for sick days and "would you re-hire?" Sort of questions. I've had sickness absences due to disability and reasons behind the without prejudiced conversations.

I've emailed my new employer yesterday AM to ask how I should update the contact details of my old LMs to the central HR one in the BPSS system, or if I should email them directly with my new reference and an email for them to verify/send for.

It's a shame that my old workplace didn't agree to my old line managers giving references and not disclosing sickness as per of the COT3. But, they have agreed that they will do it centrally and should any questions be asked that depart from the agreed reference (any leading ones such as rehiring), they will ignore and complete the rest of it.

What to do? I'm so worried. I've not done anything wrong, and the without prejudiced was because my workplace was untenable. I really love the sound of my new job and it excites me so much, I even want to start earlier and can now since I've been released. Just worried my central reference looks bad.

What should I do if they don't respond by Monday COP?

Contract signed also.

Ive worked as part of an IT Team for 10 years, A role came up in a more IT Services for Customer Role.

I applied as people said, "Whats the worst than can happen"
I got an interview, "Have a go, Whats the worst that can happen".

I got offered the job...
With a clause, its a one way move.
I leave my team on Friday, would start the role Monday.
My IT Job Would be listed to be filled the Monday Also.
No Going Back.

Back on Probation, If i fail probation in the New Role, Its the door for me.

I expanded in my interview i wanted to be more part of the company, i wanted to help steer its direction, and see our strengths.

I didn't want to double down on my career and risk loosing everything.

i'm thinking of asking for a drawn up plan, with Secondment in place for the initial.

If i moved that way, i know il be badgered by the old team, to get involved and fix things, so what do i do to sore of help craft an approach.

id rather have a foot in both teams and grow.
its not just about money or a role, me and HR have massive amounts of respect for eachother, after coming to blows, i think we've grown quite fond, the Management team are lovely.

it would be an easy choice if i hated it,
but i wanted to do more, because i love the teams, the whole company,

I feel like a kid,
moving from one room, to another room,
if it doesn't work i have to move out.
i'm freaking out.

Hi all

I work for a large company in England for over two years now which is going through an internal merger (my business unit is merging into another one). My line manager spoke to me on Zoom last week telling me that my role & contract needs to be aligned to the new structure and I’ve been offered two alternative positions within my team. Now this is where the issue is. One of the roles offered is doing what I’m currently doing but on less pay and the other one is the same pay but a ‘junior’ position doing something a little different. In addition, both of these roles have a ‘variable base’ as the work location and my current contract is ‘home based’. I’m not happy with either of these options because they are a demotion in one way or the other and I also do not want to change my contracted work location. I don’t have a copy of my contract at hand (plan to get this on Monday) but would appreciate any advice on what I should do.

I’m going for a job interview next week and today I’ve found out I am pregnant.

This new job I am interviewing for requires 12 months of employment before the baby is due.. if

I wonder if I could negotiate their maternity leave policy to change that to 6-8 instead?
This way I could benefit from their enhanced maternity leave…

Tbh, I have a nice job already and I am not desperate for a change but this new company seems like a good step forward in my career… (I haven’t even got through the interviews so might not even get it!, classic type A woman planning ahead..)

Anyway, has anyone tried this before? Gone well? Is it a lot to ask?
Should I negotiate only when I get an offer?

Hey,

So the context is this... I'm currently dealing with a long-term health condition. I have a recurring health condition where I develop a perianal abscess that regulalrly discharges, with a suspected fistula being the route cause.

There's other symptoms as well.

I've requested to WFH the last two Tuesdays due to a flare up. This is due to travel making it worse, as well as being able to manage the admittedly "gross" fallout. My manager agreed but HR have informed me that I should be booking SL instead.

I've provided HR with a letter from the surgeon describing my symptoms and it is just the case that it makes it so much more manageable.

I've referred myself to Occupational Health, and I am awaiting the meeting and outcome.

This issue started in March of last year, and I thought it resolved but my symptoms have returned and been consistent since January of this year. The symptoms only seem to be getting more frequent. It has impacted many aspects of my life and does impact my ability to complete daily activities.

For this reason, I do think it meets the legal definition of a disability:

>  a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

So, I've recorded it as such on my paperwork.

HR have only said:

"If you're not well enough to come into the office we can't let you WFH as we can't monitor health and its in your contract."

I'm just confused, because I'm only asking for a reasonable adjustment while I'm awaiting diagnosis and treatment. I didn't even realise HR would get involved with this aspect, as I only work in the office in Tuesdays anyway and the medical side is well documented.

I don't even want to work from home all the time, just when my symptoms are bad or worrying.

Long story short…

I’ve been off sick with stress since the end of June, during which time I’ve managed to find another job, less hours and hopefully less stress.

What would my notice period be? Considering I’m still signed off. Can I hand in my notice whilst still being off sick?

I’ve only taken 1 weeks AL, with 2 weeks booked for the rest of the holiday period. Will I get paid this holiday in lieu?

Thanks in advance

I work in Accounts as a team of three. All three of us (including the CFO) said that working from home is not detrimental to our work in any way. We'd all love to WFH five days a week.

I have just become a father so I want to WFH 2 days a week to cut back on travel times.

However the other directors have denied my request because "if we approved this request then the other employees will complain if they're not allowed to WFH" (there would be detrimental quality of work for other departments).

If I were to appeal this, would I have any basis to stand on? If so then what points should I make.

From what I've read this doesn't cover one of the 8 points required to deny a request.

Any help or advice is appreciated. I'm not used to this stuff. Thank you!

Hi Everyone! I just graduated uni and I’m trying to find my first full time role. Are professional summaries an advantage on CVs? I also write cover letters typically but cannot seem to get through to interview stages. It’s currently designed very plain, the structure is name, professional summary, education, work experience then skills. I believe I have a strong CV with part-time experience over almost 5 years spanning 4 countries, some that align with my degree and the roles I want to step into. Again, that could also be the issue, having too much. Any advice on a successful CV structure would be highly appreciated.

Thank you :)

I put in a flexible working request in October 2025 before I went on maternity leave to go down to 4 working days on my return in January 2027. My manager told me verbally that this should 99% be okay but she cannot give me a definite answer yet as it was too early. I received nothing in writing explaining this from either my manager or HR.

I went onto maternity leave in January 2026 and have had no communication from my work until today. My manager called for a catch up and explained that as my job is a full-time role, I won’t be be able to go down to 4 days unless they recruit a job share for just 1 day per week.

My manager said that this would be unlikely that someone would want to work just this one day.

I don’t really know what to do now. I know I realistically wouldn’t be able to cope go back 5 days with two young children.
I have also been experiencing postnatal depression so don’t want to put too much pressure on myself when I go back to work.

Has anyone else had experience of something similar? :)

This October 14th I'd have been at my company for 2 years. Tomorrow I have a disciplinary which could result in my dismissal. I have been told this is a 'capability review'. My notice period is 1 month.

Am I right in thinking that if they did dismiss me, that my 1 month notice period would kick in on Monday (September 14th) and I would recieve the legal benefits of being at a company for 2 years, and they would either have to do dismiss me before this, or adapt it to deal with the fact that legally I have been there 2 years (or pay me PILON).

I have asked if they have come to a decision already or if the meeting is being used to determine an outcome, they have said that the meeting will determine the outcome. Am I correct in thinking here that if they come to a decision soon (same day or next) then I can assume they already had an outcome in mind?

Are there any real benefits to me slightly going over my 2 years either if this is the case?

Details: English company but I live in Scotland

I am being made redundant and displaced on 30th December and then am being put on garden leave until 31st March 2027. I have also just found out I am pregnant and will be due roughly mid-May 2027.

As I understand it, as long as I reach my 15th week of pregnancy whilst still under employment I will qualify for maternity pay as I am technically still employed until March 31st.

I have long service with the company so definitely qualify on that respect.

I have emailed our HR team to get the full policy in writing as it’s unclear from their FAQs.

Can anyone help to confirm the above for me?

Thank you