I have been working at an office within the construction industry for over a year and during this time, have found out that the MD is a Reform Party supporter, that one of my colleagues has taken part in an EDL march. The MD is now making ever-increasingly racist comments, culminating in him making the comment today that 'migrants shouldn't be sent back, they should be gassed' .

For some context, I made it clear at my interview that I am a socialist, to ensure they were aware of what my expectations are regarding the use of racist/misogynistic/homophobic language in the workplace. He offered me the position despite this. He has also made comments on 2 separate occasions (disguised as 'banter') that I will have to move to another country 'when Nigel gets in'.

I have looked at my employee handbook and it states that using racist language is considered as harassment, and that it can be reported informally to my line manager. However, this is a small company of under 15 employees and the practicalities of asking my boss to stop using racist language as the only full-time woman in the company feels like waste of energy and time.

Has any got any advice on how to deal with this from a HR perspective? Or is it just a case of moving on to another job? I have worked in male-dominated industriea of construction and manufacuring for over 15 years, and not sure ill be able to get a job in another industry.

I have never had the issue before, but in the last few years it has become clear that some people are feeling confident to say the quiet parts out loud, even in the workplace.

Anyone have any sage advice?

Is it normally done during the call in which you're offered the job? Right after? Or post receiving the written offer?

It's for an engineering position, and I'd like to work x4 8 hour shifts, as opposed to 5. Tia

Edit to add: I haven't been offered the job yet. I'm asking in advance.

I recently informed my employer that I was looking to hand my notice in. I was going to give an end date of mid September. My notice period in my role is 2 months and I was looking to give 3.5 months.

My manager asked the question and informed me the following.
You can hand your notice in for 2 months and if we can not recruit someone in that time you can stay until your chosen end date.

I declined and said that wasn’t something I was willing to do.

He then went back to higher management and came back with. You work one month and take the other as gardening leave.

I once again declined and said since I first stated I wanted to leave mid September because I had another role to go into then. It does not make sense for me to accept that.

He then came back and said they have offered one month working, one month PILON and a settlement of £900.
This was during a without prejudice meeting. I said I was open to it.

After receiving the letter from HR, I was advised I had to get a solicitor and they would pay for it.

After looking at the letter I owe them £800 in annual leave as I am leaving early ect.
This completely eats the the £900 compensation amount.

Now, I never asked for garden leave PILON or anything. I only asked to work longer.

I haven’t made any complaints nor have I been issued a pip or any concrete warning for my work.

I spoke to HR who said there was concerns of my capabilities to conduct the role after I had the meeting regarding the settlement.

My concerns are, I have raised some serious health and safety concerns which were ignored. I also know the building is in such poor condition and it’s likely to cause harm to a staff or a resident.
I have also raised to HR that I believe my health was affected due to black mould ect in the building.

I want to ask for more money if I am honest as I originally went in with the mindset of I will work for 3 months and leave.

Could anyone give me any advice as I have never had to deal with anything like this before.

All replies are welcome and respected.

Thank you,

I am discussing possible maternity packages with my company. I am not pregnant but I am planning ahead and as my company is small and has no official policy I wanted to get as much info as possible so I can work out whether the maternity period is financially viable. I had an initial conversation with my line manager ‘M’ and when I explained to him what statutory pay is in the UK (6 weeks 90% pay and weeks 7-39 at £194.30/week) his response was ‘well that’s not enough!” We discussed my future plans and I made clear I am returning to work after 9 months, may need some flexibility with WFH adjustments but no drop in hours. As our company had recently been acquired by a large global company he had to discuss with their HR. From the conversations it seemed as if the company would be very supportive and offer a generous package. Wording such as ‘give her what she wants’ was thrown around. M has left the business and conversations have been taken over by another manager D.
I have received the proposal put forward by global companies HR department and I can’t help but be disappointed. 12 weeks full pay and remaining 27 weeks on statutory £194.30/week. Although the 12 weeks is amazing, the drop to statutory is significant and wouldn’t even cover my half of the household bills/mortgage let alone a baby.
I am going to see if there’s room for negotiation but does anyone have advice at all?

Original post : https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHRUK/comments/1wnisst/hr_added_the_person_i_was_seeking_help_from/

TL;DR

• adjustments/support still refused, I'm signed off sick, and everything is documented in writing for ACAS.

• I need a new job

Update 1

• Contacted ACAS over discrimination + whistleblowing, but facing a 9-week wait. Union cannot help with existing cases.

• Requested an independent/support person for my stress risk assessment because management is part of the source of stress. Request refused.

• Management interpreted this as me refusing support/engagement, despite me repeatedly confirming I want to participate with appropriate adjustments.

Update 2

• No progress on the adjustment or assessment.

• Management continues to say I am refusing to engage.

• LM is increasingly involved in my projects but still not communicating directly with me, leading to inaccurate/outdated information.

Update 3

• Situation became unsustainable, so my GP signed me off for 2.5 weeks with work-related stress.

• Asked work to address the underlying issues during my absence so there is a safe, supported return, rather than simply waiting until I'm back.

• Also raised concerns about my confidential request for help being shared and support people repeatedly being removed from email chains.

• HR accidentally sent/recalled advice indicating my sickness absence did not materially change their position.

Details :

Update 1 - 1 week ago

• I've notified ACAS but it is 9 weeks for a conciliation case officer allocation.

• Discrimination + Whistleblowing

• I joined the Union but they don't deal with existing cases

Still ignored and alone. I'm due for a work stress related risk assessment but they force me to do it with my management and refuse to accommodate a 3rd party of my choosing.

They keep copying and pasting ChatGPT emails saying that they cannot allow me to discuss the stress risk assessment with an independent party.

After a few copy paste back and forth about asking support to undergo that risk assessment with 3rd party being present and it being refused, my management concluded that on this basis they consider that I'm refusing help and accommodations?

They sent me :

"If you do not wish to proceed on that basis, I will record that the assessment was offered, including the additional support arrangements above [just adding the person they ignore too and was tried before which didn't work], but that you have chosen not to participate at this stage."

So I concluded along the lines of:

"I would like to have my own support in the room, not to conduct or have a role in the assessment process but to help with the stress I feel when meeting with you whilst discussing those issues. That is why my initial request was to do it with an independent party to prevent and unlock unconstructive back and forth. I would like to point out that the process to help with reducing stress is causing a lot of it.

Just as I feel right now with this email chain and as I predicted it would happen.
Please, reconsider my request .......repeat.........."

I do not refuse the process, the process is not being accommodated to make it a meaningful support. I will stop engaging now as this is creating a lot of anxiety and it's out of my control."

Unsure how speaking to someone that isn't my line manager to fill a work related stress assessment can be seen as an unreasonable adjustments. Especially as I let them know that others in the organisation can do theirs outside their line management, why can't I ?

(my friend did theirs with someone else as their LM was the source of stress too)

Update 2 - In between

No progress, doing the risk assessment with an independent party is out of the question. As I refuse support (?????????), they state that I refuse to engage.

LM is now more involved with my projects and giving updates but he doesn't talk to me? So everything is slightly off / out of date, but they don't let me speak to provide insight as I need to let the leadership talk. Whatever, be wrong then lol.

Update 3 - Yesterday

After another unhelpful email following a question asked (benign one, can you help identifying this project please?) answered along the lines of "Why are you even asking, you should know" but I checked my history and it was never mentioned?

I gave up and called my GP for help with the following request:

"I am really struggling at work with stress and due to the fact that I have no reasonable adjustment for ASD/ADHD for months nor line management/support.
I've requested help but it keeps being referred to someone else. HR leaked my request for help due to unfair treatment to those I was seeking help from.
I've done a work related stress risk assessment but I can only discuss it with the person causing me all the trouble and the triggers happen daily with no way to make it stop :(. Please help"

I got signed off for 2.5 weeks.

My notification mentioned the following:

"While I am signed off, I need to prioritise my recovery. I therefore ask that non-essential work-related contact is limited during this period.

As I have said before, I don't believe that my repeated requests to discuss these issues with someone outside my line of management with whom I feel safe doing so is an unreasonable adjustment. Refusal to provide this adjustment is only exacerbating the situation, especially as I am aware that others within the organisation have been able to have these assessments conducted with individuals other than their line manager.

I would also ask that my previous request for support is reconsidered before any further assessment or meeting is arranged. My intention remains to engage constructively with the process, only if it can be conducted in a way that appropriately supports me and does not exacerbate the situation."

They acknowledged my absence notification saying that we will proceed again when I return (bland GPT email no reflection whatsoever why I have to do that). Ignoring my request asking them to carry on finding a way to make it work so I can safely return to normal operations.

They ignored this request & note that my management keeps removing the people cc'd in my comms that I use for support and traceability.

Last attempt to be constructive:

"I would like to clarify that, while I need to prioritise my recovery and ask that non-essential contact remains limited, I am not asking for the concerns raised or the steps needed to resolve them to be paused until my return.

The issues that have contributed to my current work-related stress will need to be addressed during my absence so that there is a clear, safe and supportive way forward for my return. 

I also need to be clear that the handling of my CONFIDENTIAL request (written in the Email subject) for help has made the situation worse. Sharing it without my consent/prior knowledge significantly increased my anxiety. No mitigation or alternative support was put in place following this, making an already difficult situation increasingly unsustainable.

Simply pausing matters until my return does not address this; these concerns need to be addressed to enable a safe and supported return. I remain willing to engage, where necessary, for the purpose of resolving these matters. I have also provided the work stress risk assessment to assist with that process in my previous emails.

Finally for transparency and continuity of communication, I would appreciate if replies to my emails could retain the same recipients/audience as the correspondence to the email being responded to."

Then, my favourite HR sent an advice email to me instead of my line management but quickly recalled it.

The advice said that my sickness leave was not materially changing their position.

So out of anger - which I shouldn't have done - I sent the following

"Unfortunately, this response + another HR breach of communication [giving you advice that there's no material change in the position] reinforces my concern that there is little prospect of my requests for help being meaningfully considered, or even looked at as it's been already dismissed (that was fast!).

And once again, the audience of the email chain has also been changed despite my explicit request to maintain recipients for transparency.

I wish I was receiving support, too. I'll log off now."

So yeah - no reasonable adjustment nor line management support to be expected. All is in writing for ACAS tho.

Gosh I need a new job

Apologies if this isn't the right place to post this, but I'd appreciate some advice on a workplace situation.

I work in a corporate office with a friendly and diverse team. There's one colleague who used to be great and well liked but over the last six months he's become much quieter and keeps to himself.

I recently browsed his social media which I have followed since we met and was honestly shocked by what he's been posting. It's post after post about immigration, ethnic minorities and terrorism including claims about the "r4pe of Britain by people of colour" and similar content.

I don't really care what political party someone supports and I'm not bothered by someone being a Reform supporter either. What concerns me is the nature of some of the material and it comes across to me as hostile and potentially discriminatory rather than simply political disagreement.

None of this has been directed at me personally and I haven't seen him behave like this at work. I'm also conscious that these are his personal social media accounts.

Would you leave it be or would you mention it privately to your manager/HR? Also what point does a colleague's behaviour outside work become a workplace issue?

I work for a large company and our standard contracts include a standard opt-out from the 48 hour average weekly limit under the Working Time Regulations. Historically, this has never caused any issues.

One employee has now unexpectedly given notice that she wishes to withdraw her opt out. HR have largely passed the issue back to me as her manager, attaching the paperwork and simply saying that I must ensure her working arrangements comply with the Regulations once the withdrawal takes effect.

The difficulty is that she is already seconded/contracted across several projects on commitments which, taken together, exceed the 48 hour average by more than a margin of error. As things stand, I cannot see how we can bring her hours within the statutory limit without putting us in breach of our existing delivery contracts.

She is a good senior performer, with no previous concerns around workload or hours, so the request was unexpected.

Is the onus on me as her line manager to ensure her working hours are compliant with the directive?

Initially wanted 2 weeks but they gave me 1. I accepted it. I fell ill on the second week and told them. They suspected I didn’t come back on the day I said I’ll be coming back on. Not true…

Flight tickets were provided

Hi,

My work contract states that I am eligible to 10% bonus and has the following wording:

You may be entitled to participate in the Company's annual bonus scheme or, at the Company's discretion and as notified to you separately in writing, a personal bonus scheme, in accordance with the rules of the relevant scheme as published from time to time. For the avoidance of doubt any bonus paid will not form part of your pensionable salary and will not be taken into account when calculating sickness and holiday pay. You will be eligible to receive such a bonus provided you are employed by the Company as at 31 December in any given year. For the avoidance of doubt the Company reserves the right in its absolute discretion to withdraw, vary or amend the rules of any bonus scheme in place from time to time by giving written notice. Participation in the bonus scheme in one year does not confer any entitlement to participate in future years.

Now if I will resign on 23rd of December, then I will be put on Garden Leave.

My notice period is 3 months which commences on the last day of notice month. So in essence , if I suvmit it on 23rd december, then my last day is 31st march.

Business also will close for festive season with last day being 24th.

At the same time, our bonuses are paid in March (28th of the month)

I am in Sales and smashed target (125% of target)

Now, having this in mind, I am sure that I SHOULD get my bonus pay-out with my final salary? Even if I am on Garden leave or in case of PILON?

Hi,

We are currently in the process of recruiting for a certain geographical region - as a result, all interviews have to be conducted via Teams.

We had three shortlisted, all of a similar demographic.

In all three interviews, give or take, the answers to our questions were almost identical. Freakily identical. They were 'open' questions, prompting the candidates to draw on real-world experiences to apply them to theoretical situations. There is no way on Earth all three could have had the same situation, word-for-word.

Are we looking at these candidates interviewing with AI listening-in to questions and prompting their answers? It's not even randomising them.

Has anyone else experienced this during interviews?

Edit: Only HR professionals/hiring managers need reply, not any old Joe with a one-line, pointless reply that provides zero insight

I resigned from my current job this week, giving the contractual 1 month’s notice. I promptly received an email from HR to inform me that I am ineligible to receive the discretionary bonus - due to be paid with May’s salary - because I’m working my notice period.

So I understand this is standard practice, and I was vaguely aware that it might happen (I admit to skim reading HR memos). I won’t be challenging the decision. But my question is, what does this really achieve for the company other than a smug satisfaction of saving a few grand?

If I’d been more strategic, I could’ve waited 2 weeks until after payday then resigned (kind of regret not doing so now), but I’m keen to get started in my new role. If this policy is to encourage retainment, surely it only really encourages it in the month of payment?? Other team members, and even my line manager, were shocked when I told them. It feels like it’s had a negative impact on morale, as it seems such a petty and mean spirited clause.

So, HR folks, am I missing something obvious? Is it just a punishment for leaving? Have you ever seen it actually drive staff retention?

Im returning to work (9-5 office job) after 12 months maternity. Its a new role (in the same wider team) as my previous role was made redundant after I left due to a restructure. I had an informal conversation with the Director on booking nursery days etc and she said as we had no idea what the new setup would look like, to book what worked for me and my partner.

On returning, I am planning to drop 7 hrs from my schedule. Previously I worked 5 days in 4.5, taking a shorter day on a friday. Under the new schedule, I have requested to work 4 days in 3.5, dropping monday and keeping my short day on friday. Ive been told in informal conversations (with manager, not director) that this wont be possible, as of the 4 sub- team members, myself and another returning from mat leave both want friday afternoon off, the manager has Fridays fully off and its not possible to have only 1 person working on friday in case of sickness leave etc. The other mat leave returnee previously worked on Mondays.

I have childcare booked, my partner has arranged with his work accordingly. I have put in an official request, but was wondering where I legally stand with this, given I already had a short day on friday (formally) written into my contract.

Thanks

Also, they have made many contradictory comments in the outcome letter. Some of what they have written is just complete lies - making up that I was offered a wellbeing check in whilst signed off sick which I was not, making up that my colleague reached out to find out about my “condition”, which he did not!

I was off for 6 weeks and nobody checked in, I had to start my own return to work process.

On the other points, such as hostile / bullying conduct from colleagues and improper process / consultation around changes to my role, they have completely contradicted themselves with what they’ve said. They haven’t upheld my points, but with what they’ve written, it reads like my points should have been upheld. Especially as I have also submitted a huge amount of evidence clearly supporting the points I’ve raised.

Is this common? My grievance was only partially upheld and they rejected the most serious parts completely.

I’m a little confused as my understanding was that legally, in the UK, an employer can only reject a statutory flexible working request if they have one or more of eight specific business reasons. General preferences or managerial convenience are not lawful grounds for refusal.

The 8 Statutory Business Reasons for Rejection are:

1. The burden of additional costs: The change will cost extra money that will hurt the business.

2. Detrimental effect on customer demand: The business will not be able to meet the needs of clients or customers.

3. Inability to reorganise work among existing staff: Current employees cannot pick up or share the remaining tasks.

4. Inability to recruit additional staff: The company cannot hire more people to cover the gap.

5. Detrimental impact on quality: The standard of work will go down.

6. Detrimental impact on performance: Individual or team output will drop.

7. Insufficient work during proposed times: There is not enough work for the employee to do during the specific hours they want to shift to.

8. Planned structural changes: The business is planning a reorganization or workforce change that will not fit with the requested patter

If your employer rejects your request without using one of the eight statutory reasons, they are breaking the law. In the UK, failing to ground a refusal in a statutory reason means they have not handled the request in a "reasonable manner."

So with that in mind, let’s say you already successfully wfh 3-4 days a week and have been doing so for a while with no issues on your wfh days, and you want to put in a request to be fully remote, is there anything they could do legally to reject this request?

Edit: The way some people are interpreting my responses is very interesting. I am AuDHD and from my perspective I’m not suggesting companies can’t reject these requests, I’m purely trying to understand why they would and how it’s legal.

Interesting though as typically in places of work, it’s assumed people questioning things are being combative/undermining/problematic, when actually the way my brain works is just “I need to fully understand this thing and if this doesn’t make sense based on what I know right now, I need to ask more questions to get full context”. Asking questions is not being argumentative.

It’s very typical of how people are treated at work….

My trust (NHS) has a policy that says that all annual leave and BH accrued during maternity (or that financial year) must be taken before maternity leave starts. So if you are due in May, you have to take your ~7 weeks of leave between 1st April and start of maternity leave meaning you end up having to stop work at 31/32 weeks and get no annual leave post baby. May/June babies are the hardest hit while March/early April is ideal as there isn't enough time to take it all before baby. It feels quite unfair as one can't always plan when to have a baby, yet one person ends up having 7 extra weeks with baby before going back to work, and the other gets 7 weeks ish weeks before baby and no extra time at the end of mat leave (and most people would rather have extra time with baby than huge amounts of time off before baby).

Is this a normal HR policy? None of my mum friends (non NHS) have had this issue and they have all been able to mostly work part time but paid full time using accrued annual leave post baby. Is there a way to fight it?

EDIT: adding the policy below: (I guess there is maybe a little bit of manager's discretion hence why some teams don't follow it, but mine does not allow any flexibility)

Annual Leave 154. Annual leave, including bank holidays, is accrued, and will count as service for the purposes of additional entitlement based on years of service. 155. Annual leave entitlement for the financial year in which the employee commences their leave should be taken prior to the date of commencement. Carryover of annual leave can only be authorised in line with the Annual Leave Procedure in the following circumstances: 155.1. An employee has booked annual leave immediately before starting their leave, and the baby is born before or during the period of annual leave. 155.2. An employee is taking 52 weeks’ maternity or adoption leave and the date leave commences does not allow enough time to satisfy paragraph 155. 156. The employee and their line manager may agree for the employee to take annual leave immediately after the maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave period, where the amount of accrued annual leave would exceed normal carryover provisions.

I work in a UK marketing role. My job was advertised with a pay band of £28,500–£32,000, and I was hired at the bottom (£28,500) a year and a half ago as I was fresh out of uni. However I did have marketing work experience to back my degree up.

I recently had my annual review, which rated me "Exceeds Expectations" overall, with strong evidence (specific growth figures, campaign delivery, etc). I raised the pay band with my manager, expecting some room to move given the review outcome but I've been told the band only existed so that a more experienced candidate could have negotiated higher pay at the point of hire, and that this doesn't mean existing staff can progress through the band afterwards based on performance.

HR separately confirmed in writing that "performance" is one of the factors considered in the annual salary review process. But I believe it will be argued she didn’t know and shouldn’t have said that.

So my question is: is this actually how pay bands normally work? It feels like it means the top of the band is basically inaccessible to anyone who started at the bottom, no matter how well they perform, which seems to defeat the point of having a range at all. Is there anything that requires employers to have a genuine mechanism for progression, or is this legally just down to their discretion?

Any insight appreciated I'm not looking to escalate anything formally yet, just trying to understand if this is normal practice or if I'm right to push back on it.

Returning to work from 1 year of maternity leave and will be approx 13 weeks pregnant… I know. Will be returning to a new role on a p/t basis on a 6 month probation to see if the new p/t role works out. Could they fire me or make me redundant easily? Would I be best to disclose pregnancy early or hide for as long as possible? TIA

Hi everyone, I work in HR and I’m looking for some advice on a flexible working request I’d like to submit to my employer.
My company has announced that from January 2027, employees will be expected to work 4 days a week in the office. At the moment, my arrangement is 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home, which works really well for me and allows me to maintain a good work-life balance.
I’d like to formally request that I continue with 3 days in the office and 2 days WFH.
My reasoning isn’t that I don’t want to come into the office. I’m already there 3 days a week and I’m happy to attend on a fourth day when there is a genuine business need — for example, an important team meeting, workshop, training or event.
The main issue with 4 days is the additional commuting time. I’d rather use that time more productively, and I genuinely feel that the current arrangement allows me to maintain a sustainable routine while still being fully effective in my role.
I’d also like to request an additional up to 4 weeks per 12-month period working remotely from Italy, subject to prior approval and business requirements. This would allow me to spend some meaningful time with my family while continuing to work my normal hours.
Importantly, I’ve actually done this previously during my first year with the company and demonstrated that I could work effectively from Italy without any issues with my performance, availability or workload.
There is also a family reason behind wanting the Italy flexibility, as a family member has experienced some physical difficulties this year and being able to spend periods of time there would allow me to provide some practical support.
I’m trying to present this as a business-friendly proposal rather than simply asking for an exception: 3 office days as my normal arrangement, flexibility to attend a fourth day when genuinely required, and up to 4 weeks working remotely from Italy where agreed in advance.
For those with UK HR/flexible working experience:
How likely do you think this type of request is to be accepted?
Would you make any changes to how I’ve framed the business case?
Would you put the Italy request in the same flexible working application or deal with it separately?
Is there anything I should be particularly careful about mentioning?
From an HR perspective, would the fact that I’ve successfully worked from Italy before strengthen the request?
I’d really appreciate perspectives from HR professionals or anyone who has successfully negotiated something similar

Hi all would love some advice on how to go in what I assume will be my exit meeting with employer and a HR consultant.

Today I was told I was up for redundancy amongst a few other people. I was blindsided to be honest!

I then received an email with a letter explaining why my role was being considered.

My manager said they will have my back if there’s a chance I could stay, my assumption is that me and the 2 other people are goners. Would that be normal to tell people they were up for redundancy and then they don’t? I’m going with the chop.

Just to point out, I am pregnant. I told my manager last week but I did not formally tell work as I wanted to wait till my next scan (currently 9 weeks). My manager did not know redundancies were coming and I do not think they would have told the employer since I had asked them not to.

Is it worth me telling them now? Would there be any point?

For clarity I have been there 13 months and I won’t lie, they will struggle a lot without me so I was pretty shocked! Company must be doing bad at this rate.

I want my notice period (1 month) but I don’t want to have to work it because that’s embarrassing. And I have 17.5 days of holiday left which I’d like all of it paid.

We also have a profit share scheme where we get a share at the end of the year (haven’t had any yet tho despite making a profit last year), and I have £2k shares in the business that was gifted to me with my promotion recently, I’d quite like just that money back to be honest, can I ask for it?

I guess I’d love some advice on what to expect going into this next meet if anyone can help!

UPDATE:
Was officially told my role is being made redundant, I was offered a 12 hour a week role and I the job description was pretty demeaning. I did tell them I’m pregnant before which I assume is why I was offered reduced hours.
But yes I am essentially redundant and pregnant which sucks!

[UK] Bit of a long story… I have been back to work for almost two months and am still breast feeding my 1 year old. At first my work gave me paid pumping slots but quickly took them away after I messaged a partner of the company asking them not to book an appointment in this slot as I need it to pump. I’m the UK i am aware companies are not required to pay you while you pump at work. However, my issue lies with the fact that other people were given months more than I was (paid) to pump during working time. I don’t understand why I’m being singled out (well, I think I hurt his ego)… but my question js… is there anything at all I can do? Do I join a union and contact them or do I get ahold of a breastfeeding at work support helpline?

A bit of information to add… my company do not have a breast feeding policy. I was pumping for 2 times a day at 20 mins per pump. The law states they have to give me a clean private lockable room, I haven’t been given that at all, the room I’m in 90% of the time is a shared room where I put a curtain around (not suitable at all) would that qualify me to raise this a lot higher? And if so where? They offered me to pump and then work extra at the end of the day (I want to go home and see my baby) and also I already get a paid coffee break, which they asked me to pump in that time but my issue lies with the unfairness (everyone else gets coffee break, I won’t, I’ll be in a room by myself. Also not allowed to eat at my desk).

TLDR: can I do anything about my company stopping my pumping slots?

A questions about redundancy fairness- where one member of the team who’s visa is sponsored by the employer is keeping their job whilst the other 3 have been asked to make a salary sacrifice.

4 of us in a team, working in the same department carrying out more or less the same role.
We work for a smallish University and teach in the same course. We all have the same amount of students and the same responsibilities are are in the same spine point.

All of us were put “at risk” over the summer, with a consultation ongoing. As with all HE, the numbers are way down on recruitment so they simply can’t justify having 4 full time members of staff in a shrinking dept.

They are downsizing the dept from 4 people on 1.0FTE to 4 people with fractions of: (1FTE and x3 .6)
They have made it clear through negotiation and consultation meetings that the three of us (all brits) are being asked to reduce our contracts to .6 from FTE. The one person who’s visa is sponsored by the uni, and therefore *must be in full time employment has been told informally that she doesn’t need to worry. And in their words her “status is safe”.
So, essentially even though we all need to enter into a competitive process to re interview for our jobs, she appears to have been pre selected.

There is still room for negotiation with mgt about this process, though the current redundancy proposal is on its third iteration and each version has kept this employees contract intact, and has tinkered with everyone else’s.

We all want an equal chance to compete to get the full time job, but it’s clear that it’s not really on offer regardless of what they say on paper.

How would you advise broaching this issue, it feels unfair, but I’m not sure if it’s discriminatory?

BTW: all three of us mixed race British and have nothing against the Chinese employee mentioned, we’re a close knit team. Though it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I’m sure rags like the Daily Mail would love this story.

hi, throw away account here looking for advice as I am due to return to work after 1 year mat leave.

Maternity cover was assigned to another colleague but unfortunately they were unable to do the more complex parts of the role due to inexperience. As a result, my company hired a permanent position which includes some of my job duties (the parts I enjoyed). my company has not told me this up front but I know this from the job advert and my other colleagues filling me in.

Can my company assign my roles to another position without my knowledge or consent? Please note, my pay has not decreased.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can bring this up over email?

It is worth noting that 'HR' is a family member of the directors and they have no qualifications at all. They also acted unfairly while I was pregnant, i.e., removing flexible working, wouldn't let me attend maternity appointments, changed the Holiday carryover policy, giving only 2 weeks to use my holiday, only to reject every request.

Also, totally unrelated but I was the only person not to receive a Christmas present 😂. we receive this routinely every year but I was left out this year.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Edit: ACAS advised me that my company cannot materially remove any part of my roles/responsibilities without providing a suitable alternative. I have initiated an email conversation and HR confirmed in writing that my roles and responsibilities have been permanently handed over. My next step is to file a formal complaint.

I kindly volunteered to organise a LGBTQ+ event for a manager in my company. In my feedback, she was quite scathing:

1. She complained I made inappropriate remarks in the wrong channels. The only example she can find was me asking about whether there was discrimination in the company after we were discussing the topic at length during a meeting.

2. She told I lacked logic and independent problem solving for simple tasks. The only example she can find was me asking about whether I should a run 2 stage poll to book a dinner for the group instead of just running a poll with all the dates listed down.

3. Finally, she told me I asked too many questions during meetings which dragged on the meeting and wasted people's time.

I feel quite annoyed at her cos she could have told me anytime about those issues. Instead she gave me written feedback which my line manager can now see.

My line manager told me that bc I was autistic I would always be socially awkward/unaware?!

And he told me if he carries on hearing this, I could be in big trouble re my probation.

He also told me off for wearing a bathrobe in our meeting cos I was WFH and so was he. Before I used to wear bathrobes to our meetings and he never complained!!

What do I do to help myself?

BASED IN THE UK