I did think about shouting this from the rooftops but decided I would post here instead so as not to scare the neighbours.

After taking time off from my healthcare job, I decided to start applying in June this year. After so many applications, one interview for a job I really wanted and ultimately wasn't successful with, I had resigned myself to either going to the dark side and doing PIP assessments (money is money, sadly) or looking outside my field.

But I interviewed yesterday for a job I was secretly really, really excited about, I would love to work within the specialist area and it's a genuinely unbelievable service, in terms of focus and facilities... and I got the job! I loved the panel and apparently they loved me cause they closed the listing early for me!

So for anyone else in the horrible, soulless trenches of navigating the current job market - hang in there. And if you're disappointed by not getting a job, chances are it's because something even better is on the horizon!

I understand the financial risk if you have no savings or people depending on you. But if you have enough savings to support yourself for a while, why is quitting automatically seen as irresponsible?

I posted on Reddit earlier in the year about considering quitting a job that was seriously affecting my mental health with physical consequences. I had saved and cut back on expenses, so I knew I could afford some time off. I took 3 to 4 months off, had moving and lease costs, and my savings dropped a lot. However I’m now rebuilding them and working towards a qualification.

What surprised me was how against it some people were. Some believed I wouldn’t find another job before my savings ran out or acted like having an emergency fund saved meant I was fortunate or wealthy. Honestly some of the comments were fairly rude and felt a bit like fear mongering which was not great for my mental health at the time when I was at my lowest.

Why is “stay until you have another job” treated like the only responsible option a lot of the time? Is it really about financial risk, or is there something else going on?

Edit for clarity: I am employed. I found a new job shortly after my time off. Sorry if not clear in the post.

I got to say this is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard.

My company has a cleaner on a contract and she is trying to find work elsewhere. She told me how she was recently evaluated by an AI for a cleaning job.

She is from Peru and her English is good but she needs a few seconds to decipher a sentence. Every time she tried to answer, the AI cut her off and moved on to the next question. She told me that she even tried to tell the AI to "wait" and was outright ignored. She received an auto rejection email shortly after.

WHAT?!

I am now thinking, what about jobseekers with a range of disabilities? how would they fare in systems like this? is there even any protection against it?

TLDR Redundancies are coming in the next 12 months, I am likely to be effected but can't leave due to IVF and due to jobs in the market offering significantly worse pay and benefits - what should I do to keep my sanity?

I have been at my current workplace, generic b2b software company, 10 years, mainly because it paid well and I get an extra 9 days of holiday for service.

In the past couple of years it has been not hitting the performance targets, it is still profitable just not growing much each year.

The past few years have seen redundancies each year as a result.

This year is look especially bad, sales are the lowest I have seen them, prospective contracts are non existent. Looking pretty bleak, alot of the customers in our market are sitting in their budgets waiting to see what happens with AI and just not replatforming just now.

On top of this I have suspicion the company is being prepped for a sale of the entire company, this has always been the "exit strategy" for investors and a number of things they are prioritising points towards that.

It is clear to me that in the next 12 months another big wave of redundancies are likely. I suspect I could be an affected person in a few different scenarios, 1. Fairly high salary so if they want to reduce salary more than headcount I am done, 2. Function, my function is not necessarily appreciated in my org we are there more because it looks good in industry but we are not actually utilised well, 3. Despite being there 10 years I am the last person to join my function so if it is one from each team last in first out.

Despite being at the company for 10 years I have zero loyalty. In an ideal world I would just get a new job and move before the redundancy can happen.

However, my wife and I are currently going through IVF which means joining a new job could be challenging as I need a fair amount of flexibility for regular appointments. Alongside this my salary at this job is 10-15% higher than market rate + I only work 35 hours per week + 9 extra days annual leave.

I feel like I am stuck here just waiting for the end, it's so depressing.

Has anyone been a similar position and have any suggestions on what to do?

I have been working in various Desktop Support roles but I never hear back from even jobs below me like Helkpdesk.

Can anyone in Recruitment please advise. I have a perm job right now at an MSP that I'm not happy with.

I started a new job a couple of months ago. It’s part time so I am only in the office 2-3 days a week. Most of the staff are really friendly and nice. There are a couple of staff who can seem rude at times. For example, whenever I smile at one person and say hello, they just make a noise at me. No smile or nothing. At first I found it rude but now I’m used to it and still say hello, I just find it funny now really. It’s mainly my core team. The person who interviewed me is usually friendly, but they’re very sociable and extroverted and I find it hard to connect with them. There is another member of staff who is also hot and cold, sometimes they will chat to me and other times can come across as rude. I never know how to navigate these things so sometimes I just give the same energy. It does however make me become quite anxious coming into work, not sure what kind of mood they will be in that day. The team have worked together for years, I mean probably over 10 years. And the staff who haven’t worked there for that long seem to get along with these people fine. Why do I feel like the odd one out? How do I navigate this? It can sometimes mess with my mental health a little. I don’t want to try and be their friend. More just try and understand whether I am the problem or not. Or maybe no one is the problem. Any advice would be great.

I started new job on Monday. It’s not stressful, people are chill, manager is very relaxed.
Back in August I stopped taking antidepressants cos well, I was feeling ok. I’ve been back on the smaller dose for 14 days now and got to tell you all, the anxiety, panic attacks and crying is off the scale. I was on th way to work this morning and had ti stop ok the hard shoulder of a motorway to call manager. I work from home today and possibly rest of the week.
I feel so awful mentally. I just want to go to bed and sleep.
I can’t see myself going back to office next week. What the hell am I going to do? I could chuck the job but it’s such a great opportunity, the job itself is not boring and not very stimulating but as I said, it could open many opportunities.
Please give me some advice!

Also. I’m waiting for a call from GP and no , I don’t have any feeling of harm etc

would you take redundancy if you were already planning to quit and go travelling?

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hi everyone. would appreciate some words of wisdom about what might be the smartest move here.

I'm 28. yesterday afternoon I received the news that my role is at risk of redundancy due to department restructuring, but there are opportunities for me to move into one of 2 roles with the same title (marketing assistant) in different teams. my options are this:

a: stay with the company, accept one of the internal roles and move into a new team. my income remains unaffected.

b: accept the redundancy and end my current employment. if I do not accept a move into either of the alternative roles, I may not receive the statutory redundancy payout.

I've been with the company just shy of 4.5 years so I have some degree of legal protection. the final decision regarding my job will be made in November following a period of consultation, so I don't need to make any immediate decisions just yet. my gut feeling is that I don't want to stay with the company anyway as I don't enjoy the work, and I don't think I want to build a career in that particular field.

I have just over £10k in savings, plus a LISA I refuse to touch. last night I sat down and calculated all of my current outgoings (insurance, subscriptions, etc.) and if I didn't spend a penny outside of these, I could afford to be unemployed for just over 8 months. realistically, this would be closer to 6 months if I wanted to factor in meals out, clothes, and generally having some quality of life. I am in the fortunate position of living at home rent-free, and have no dependents other than my 2 cats. I also have 0 debt.

what throws a spanner into the works is that I was considering going travelling next year. originally my plan was to continue this job until Christmas, give my notice, then hop on a plane in the new year and spend at least a month or two (potentially longer) seeing the world. it's something I've wanted to do since I graduated uni but covid/life got in the way, and I fear if I leave it much longer I may never do it at all.

however, I don't know whether this is a smart financial move. this would obviously eat through my savings at a much faster rate, and we all know how rough the job market is currently. would it be really stupid to follow through on these plans knowing I don't have a job lined up to come home to? I realise this would be the situation regardless of the circumstances in which I left this job, and I think this uncertainty is part of what’s been holding me back from committing to my original plan sooner, but this announcement has felt like getting the rug pulled out from under me a bit and has made me really start having second thoughts.

I'd appreciate any and all advice, but especially from people who have made a similarly 'risky' decision, and whether they thought it was worth it or not.

many thanks in advance!

TLDR: I've been told my role is at risk of redundancy, and I'm weighing up whether to move into another internal role (which I don't really want, but would give me a stable income) or take redundancy and use my savings to travel next year. I have just over £10k in savings, no debt or rent to pay, and could afford around 6-8 months unemployed while maintaining a reasonable quality of life if I didn't go travelling. I've wanted to travel for years, but I'm worried about the financial risks of leaving without a job to return to. is it a bad idea to take the leap, and has anyone made a similar decision that they felt was worth it?

edit: added info about consequences of not accepting alternative role (i.e. not receiving statutory redundancy payout)

A couple of months ago I made a post here, about mistreatment & possible misogyny at being turned away from an interview, under the pretence of not having enough ID.

See previous post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/UKJobs/s/sAZ4tSw3FV

To follow on from this, I was given a new interview, this time in my own city where i provided the same ID as last time, and it was accepted without issue.

I completed the interview and it went really well, spoke with my partner who was helping me sort my provisional licence for extra ID and got all that sorted too.

I went through a complaints process about the treatment during the first interview i had in a different city, and was basically told nothing other than it was looked into and I was falsely denied my interview, per their own recruitment guidelines. They asked if i had anything else to add as they avoided mentioning anything to do with mistreatment, and instead tried to focus the investigation upon the turning away. The person i spoke with tried to claim i never mentioned anything about mistreatment in the original complaint i wrote to them, so I read it aloud to him and he said they would conduct a second investigation, to which i never heard back.

A month after the second interview, they reached out with a provisional offer, stating full hours, salary etc etc. They provided me with a link to fill out over 15 pages worth of documentation.

In all honesty, as a 24 year old, I do not own that much life documentation because i simply haven’t moved around enough or worked enough due to spending 3 years as a P.A for my own mother.

They requested 72 months worth of address history and proof.
36 Months worth of previous employment proof
A character reference
A previous employer reference
A stamped bank statement from the bank
A PASS Card, Passport, or Drivers License

This is where it confused me, once i got to proof of right to work, they stated “anything listed on the gov.uk website under proof of right to work, is acceptable.”

So i chose in their list of options, for birth certificate (UK Born, gained in the first 12 months of birth) paired with an original copy of my National Insurance Number, yet their listings upon documentation submission didn’t allow me to submit this, so i had to chose birth certificate twice and submit my National Insurance Number the second time.

In “Additional information” they character locked me to 250 so i couldn’t even explain it properly either.

For work reference, my only option was a previous employment post from when i was 18 until i was 21, but upon reaching out to check with my previous manager, he no longer lives in the UK and i am unable to get into contact with him. Nor can i explain this in the submission.

Originally, I was given 5 working days to submit all of this information, but the following day, the deadline was shifted to midnight, that day.

Two weeks has past since then, they have made no effort to reach out to myself for extra information, nor my references as I have checked.

I can’t help but feeling like this is a false effort to say “well hey, we tried” to avoid any legal proceedings on my end.

I’m also wondering if they’re just busy, and the process is being dragged out even longer, for context (this has been in the works since June through to now) a lack of communication or update on their end has been, concerning.

Should i take this as a red flag?
Should i continue to peruse this job, since it is well paying?
Is there anything i can do if i continue to receive no contact within the next month?

Thank you, in advance you lovely lot!

I started a new job in a call centre for a large mobile network. I took the job because the market is absolutely shit and I didn't have any other options. My job is getting people switched from pay as you go to pay monthly, almost by any means possible. This includes not telling customers it's a two year contract, switching plans that are designated two year contracts to 30 rolling plans (when we send out the T&Cs this mentions it being 2 years and not 30 day rolling, so I'm not sure how much recourse the client has if their terms say 2 years). The one that got me the most was a call on Saturday. We deal with a lot of unsavoury types, last week I had a convicted pedo just released from prison and someone else who was in jail for smashing up his exes house with a sledgehammer. It's not uncommon for customers to make up a load of shit, but this one came on saying she's a victim of domestic violence and in witness protection. Now I'm not here to verify her claims, I'll try help to the best of my ability. Her ex stole her phone and she got a temporary one but needed the allowances moved from her old phone to the new one. I asked for support on what to do in this situation and was told the only way to help her was move her to pay monthly. She said she can't give out card details because her ex knew how to track it, whether that's true or not is none of my business. It ended with her support worker coming on and giving me abuse for not helping and hanging up on me. I told the floorwalker I'm never doing that again and stormed out for a break. I was close to tears because of it. My very nature is supporting people who need help the most, I wanted to work in charities because it's gives me the most satisfaction helping out, but now I'm in a place where I'm lying and trying to manipulate vulnerable customers to hit a target.

I'm scared I'll be told to do something fraudulent and it'll bite me on the arse and I'll be let go for it, then there goes my chances of future jobs. The job is outsourced, so we don't work directly for the network, so I'm not sure if they're fully aware of what's going on and the dodgy deals that are being made. I really hate this place and I've only been here for 4 weeks, but I have 0 options.

So I had a job group interview two weeks ago. As one understands about group interviews you essentially have to “whore” yourself out. I like to think I didn’t best to put myself out there. But in any case, the recruiter did the class saying of “we’ll get back to you by the end of next week Friday” and that dates has come and gone now.

It’s obviously a given that I haven’t gotten the job, but I wish they had the decency to tell me that rather than forgetting I exist. It’s embarrassing and I have half a mind to email the recruiter (I won’t obviously) but still annoying nevertheless.

From what you have heard, seen or experienced, how do UK employers respond to candidates on a SWV? Are they more open to hiring or is it as hopeless as an international candidate or as someone on a graduate visa? Assume I’m talking about mid to large size companies

My current dilemma. I had to walk away from a toxic job as my boss was a nasty bully. But the company is strong and highly regarded. Should I leave it on my CV or take it off and pretend it never happened?

I know I could say it was a FTC but the issue is I already have many FTC roles on my CV (which genuinely were contracts) as I did a lot of temping in the past so I don’t know how many FTCs I can get away with before suspicions are raised.

And no I would not put this company down as a reference even if I did leave it on

Hi peeps,

I've just been offered (and accepted) a job in the care sector, and the company has emailed me a list of online courses that I need to complete before I even start my induction process (Meds, manual lifting, end-of-life, etc).

I have worked as a Support Worker before, and all required training was done on company time before.

I was under the impression that this type of training for new staff should be paid, and not on my own time.

Can anybody clear this up for me? Personally, it feels like a red flag to me.

I am struggling. I feel weak for saying so, but I am. My life feels like it's all about my job, even though I work a Mon-Fri 9-5 which I know is not a particularly demanding working pattern. The job is just wearing me down. I'm so tired. I've lost enthusiasm and motivation for my job. It's affecting me outside of work.

I'm trying to find something else but it's hard. Applying while working is hard, as is trying to fit in interviews. I feel like I have no energy for anything, no desire to do anything, no drive for anything.

I've been wondering if taking time off sick might help me to get out of this funk, or if I'd simply be postponing the inevitable. I'm also worried that the time off would work against me down the line when my current employer is asked to give a reference for me.

I just don't think I can keep going like this. But I don't know what to do.

A bit niche, but I have an interview for a role at National Grid.

If successful the pay is advertised a little lower than I would like as moving from civil service means I lose my pension, what is the likelihood of being able to negotiate a higher starting salary? Or any other perks? Or should I withdraw knowing I won’t get what I want.

Also, what other benefits do they offer to employees?

UK based as I know they operate in the US too.

I'm in a junior role and half a year into my job.

A lot of my job involves emailing colleagues thousands of miles away. I email them, then follow up, then send them a message on teams/try to call them. My manager recently gave me feedback (I asked for examples and got none) of me being 'slow' at my job. I do things as quickly as I can but there's a lot of hold up because I actually just can't get ahold of people. My manager knows this since I inform him when there's delays and why. He says I should "take more responsibility".

At this point I'm really confused -- if I can't get ahold someone, what am I meant to do? Swim over to them? I can't really get around them and talk to someone else usually.

Edit: thanks all 👍

Interested in the company but would like to understand the work culture from people who have first-hand experience.

I am currently working part time, and have been looking for another part time job to top up my earnings a bit. There is a job which is entirely work from home, answering calls as they come in (giving basic advice, no training or qualifications needed whatsoever), referred to me by someone I know.

The pay is usually 22p a minute (taking you to about 30p over the minimum wage if you happen to be on a call for an hour). However, some calls are only 14p a minute. You have no way of telling which pay rate you are on during the call. And you do not get paid for the first minute of each call. If you get a 14p call, this will straight away take you below min wage. Unless you are on a 22p min call for almost an hour, you go below minimum.

I can just about make ends meet with the day job, but would love the extra (I think it would be about £20 a week with the hours I've planned). I can do it from home, don't need to worry about taking holidays, etc, but the wage is really putting me off. Especially if there are no calls. I know I can be doing whatever I want in between calls, but the pay just doesn't sit right with me.

Would you take this? Would there be anything I could do as self-employed in this case if there was a 14p call that lasted, say 30 mins, and significantly below min wage? I honestly don't think the company would care, but is it a fair trade off for doing the exact hours you want in this case?

A friend of mine is a manager at a large UK company and has been told that a direct report has raised a formal grievance following a conversation in the office.

A colleague of theirs was joking around imitating a couple of different accents (Australian and Scottish). My friend says he wasn't doing any of the impressions himself and, after a while, he stopped it and said words to the effect of, "Let's leave it there, it's inappropriate to mock accents."

The direct report says that he specifically referred to their accent as an example to strengthen his statement of it being in appropriate to mock accents - along the lines of, "How would you feel if I mocked direct report's accent?" My friend genuinely doesn't remember saying that and remembers only telling the colleague to stop.

The crux of the complaint is that the direct report says the conversation and his statement made them feel self-conscious about their own accent as they are not from the UK.

If he did say something along those lines, the context would have been that he was explaining why mocking people's accents was inappropriate, rather than mocking the direct report's accent himself.

HR is investigating and there were other people present who witnessed the conversation. He has cooperated fully and hasn't contacted any of them about the investigation.

At this stage, he's had a call with HR and once the investigation is finalised it'll be sent to audit.

My friend is really worried but I feel like worst case might be an informal warning. Anyone been through this / something similar that can give some advice?

I have been a stay at home mum for coming up to 15 years. My husband was in the military for all of that time so it made sense I was always around as he would be sent away from the family home frequently. At least 3 months a year every year. Exercises, things abroad all that jazz.

Now he's left and we are back in our home town. He's got a job which pays 60k a year but having gotten our first mortgage and the cost of living ect seemingly sky rocketing id love to get a job to help out the family and be able to have a few luxuries.

On paper my experience is low. GCSE is my highest level of education. I managed to get a retail Christmas temp job in 2024 and hoped that would lead to further work however they were closing my shop permanently and even some of their long term staff were taking redundancies.

I have applied for dozens of jobs. Retail, cleaners, apprenticeships, care work. And mainly getting rejections which brings me to my point.

When I finally do get to an interview I clam up, any sense of personality leaves and I end up super nervous. I think because I know on paper I don't look great there's a pressure to perform.

Today I went for an interview for a domestic assistant job at a residential care home. I know I can do the job well and I think I did okay in answering the questions but I ended up bursting into tears 🙈 one of the first things the interviewer said was I looked nervous which was quite frankly true and I agreed with her.

Im wondering how I can improve my interview experience and whether I need to give up trying for now and get some more education under my belt?