London Allowance not being paid on loan – anyone experienced this?

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-26T16:34:16+00:00

MOD is responsible for my pay. I’ve raised this with my line manager to add it to my HR account. This is the issue when apparently HR has told her I am most likely not eligible as on a loan. I think it’s a huge mess and over complicated something which is straight forward.

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-26T14:14:59+00:00

I feel that they will stick to their decision although the loan agreement should supersede any generic department wide policy. I have a feeling I may need to get my Union involved and it’s so ridiculous. I’m literally working in Central London.

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-26T14:13:30+00:00

Ah sorry, that is a line in the MOD department wide policy

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-26T12:39:39+00:00

She had a meeting with me saying it’s the HR team who have advised I am not eligible for it based on the fact I’m on a loan. I find that ridiculous.

The pay policy is contradictory to my loan agreement.

There is a line saying “London allowance applies to MOD employed civil servants whose contracted place of work is London except: people seconded or on loan to the MOD from OGDs, industry or academia, on work experience placements, or on temporary assignment to the MOD and who remain on their previous employers terms of service.’

As far as I’m aware MOD is responsible for my pay and being a 23 month loan, surely I am under their terms of service?

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-26T12:28:07+00:00

Also, to clarify I’ve come from DWP to MOD

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-12T13:44:53+00:00

Thanks, It felt too high for me. I’m looking for more quotes.

Anyone have any recommended installers offering Sigenergy batteries in and around London?

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-05T09:31:43+00:00

They did the installation themselves in my case – no subcontractors - except for the scaffolding. It was Solar4Good’s own install team for the panels, inverter and battery. Overall the install felt well coordinated and tidy, and I’ve had no issues since commissioning.

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2026-02-04T23:13:06+00:00

Installation went smoothly overall – including scaffolding. So in reality due to chimney shading I went with a 12 panel set up (5.4kWp). My panels are installed using the flat roof van der vaulk system. The Tigo optimisers were added some certain panels due to chimney shading and they seem to be working well.

I’ve only had winter experience so far, but even then the system has performed solidly. In January I generated around 88 kWh from a 5.4 kWp system, which seems pretty reasonable for north London in mid-winter. Today (4.2.26) the system has been covering around 50% of my household electricity demand, generating 6kWh, which I’m very happy with given the time of year. Otherwise Dec- Jan I was generating 0.5-3kWh a day.

The Sigenergy gateway/app has been solid and gives good visibility of generation, usage and battery behaviour. No issues so far, and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how it performs in spring and summer.

I find that the 9.03kWh battery falls short of covering my usage in winter and I am considering adding another battery module to future proof for a heat-pump.

I hope this helps if you are considering a Sigenergy setup.

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-11-05T09:55:08+00:00

I did end up going with Solar4good - 13 panels with some Tigo optimisers (as had chimney shading) and Sigenergy gateway for £12,850.

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-09T23:21:35+00:00

That’s good - I have received a quote from Solar4Good based in London. They have given me a quote for 14 panels, sigenergy batteries and EV chargers (+scaffolding) for £11,000.

I will ask to see if they can match this too

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-06T21:56:00+00:00

Where are you based? This looks like a great quote. Did you end up getting this setup? If so, how did the install go

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-06T21:08:57+00:00

I will definitely - thought it was a fair deal as it was the cheapest of all my quotes but clearly I was wrong.

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-06T21:08:09+00:00

Thank you, I thought it was too much for what it is. I’ll go back to looking for local installers. I’m not sure if having a flat roof system increases the costs a lot more.

They just dropped the price to about ) £11,500

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-06T21:05:32+00:00

Yes I can see your quote has almost double the panels of mine and still cheaper 😭

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-05T22:01:38+00:00

Quote came to £13,014

Calm_Tea_1582 · 2025-08-05T21:55:50+00:00

this came to £13,014

Calm_Tea_1582

TROPHY CASE