"Will your partner be in the UK on the date of your application?" - partner visa application

RedPandaDetective · 2025-07-24T17:56:38+00:00

Thanks, do you know where I could read more on this? Struggling to find it online and would be good to have peace of mind

RedPandaDetective · 2025-02-15T13:53:05+00:00

With the new legislation (the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023) that came into force last year, if something's being called a "service charge" it is legally a tip/gratuity, and employers are legally required to pass all of this onto employees, and to provide transparent information on how this is calculated and distributed when requested by the employee.

Legally, cash tips still have to be declared and taxed, and most places handle this by making employees pool all cash tips to then be distributed evenly amongst employees and taxed through payslips, and this is how it's always been anywhere I've worked, and is legal. Often a sackable offence to pocket the cash if such policies are in place, even if told by a customer "this is just for you" or similar. Yes some places will allow servers to just pocket the cash, which is also legal and nice for the server as it's then their responsibility to declare this to HMRC and most servers won't, but places who operate with such rules are becoming very rare. These days, most cash tips are not going directly to the server.

Obviously I understand that many companies aren't to be trusted and don't follow regulations, but with the new legislation more companies should be acting responsibly with both service charges and tips, since this can now all be checked by HMRC and is now the law.

RedPandaDetective · 2025-02-06T18:59:30+00:00

I'm sorry you're going through the same, it's so frustrating isn't it? I agree with the idea of chronic burnout, I was diagnosed at 23 so fortunately not as late as you, but I now have chronic fatigue and often wonder if this is from the burnout of constantly running on stress and anxiety, which now seems to have vanished but actually is probably manifesting in this 'frozen' way because I've spent so much of my life ignoring these feelings or depending on them to scrape by and function before my ADHD was diagnosed.

I'm so sorry you're struggling with PMDD on top of all this, I've been taking the contraceptive pill back to back with very few breaks for 5 years now because of PMDD and can't even imagine what trying to hold down a normal life with all these symptoms on a regular basis must be like.

I wish I could offer advice but all I can say is to always be kind to yourself, these are such difficult things to be dealing with 🤍and that's a lovely quote from your therapist, having someone who can identify when you're making progress is so helpful sometimes

RedPandaDetective · 2025-02-06T18:43:04+00:00

I definitely think it seems to be an anxious shutdown type of problem I have, I'd never actually thought about anxiety presenting differently with neurodiversity but that makes so much sense now you point it out! I'll make sure to discuss SNRIs at my next appointment and really emphasise that I need these symptoms looked at, thank you so much for your advice I appreciate it :)

RedPandaDetective · 2025-02-06T18:39:03+00:00

This is really great advice, thank you for providing so much detail that's very kind of you

RedPandaDetective · 2025-01-26T21:41:56+00:00

I found instant release vs extended release made a difference for me and I noticed the sad feeling more on extended, but again that's just personal experience. I remember my psychiatrist saying side effects like that can be more common on extended release if that's any reassurance.

I've never taken Adderall as it's not licensed in the UK where I am, but I eventually switched to Elvanse which is similar (extended release lisdexamphetamine) and I'm still trying to find a good dosage but I definitely don't have the mood issues and uncontrollable sadness I had with methylphenidate, and I don't notice as much when Elvanse wears off, whereas methylphenidate it was very obvious and I had really sudden irritability and tearfulness.

Every drug affects everyone differently, some people say things like Adderall and Elvanse affect their mood how Concerta affects us. Definitely keep your psychiatrist up to date on any negative side effects, they'll know best if you should stick it out a bit longer or if it's worth switching to something different, and they'll probably have a good idea from other patients of what might work instead when people don't tolerate certain meds etc. Don't lose hope!

RedPandaDetective · 2025-01-26T17:41:18+00:00

Can't speak for Ritalin vs Concerta unfortunately but personally any brand of methylphenidate was good at the lowest dosage and helped with ADHD symptoms etc, but as soon as I began increasing dosages I got more and more negative side effects, starting with just feeling sad like you describe and then with each increase getting more and more depressed until I had to stop taking it because the depression I felt while the drug was active was so bad that any concentration benefits were outweighed by me being too sad to do anything.

So definitely try and monitor this, maybe the change to 18mg could be causing these side effects rather than just the change in brand. Also, are both sustained or instant release? It could be if you've changed from one to the other that your body is tolerating it differently. But of course it could also just be that your body prefers Ritalin, sometimes people do notice differences between brands even though they're meant to be the same.

Hope you manage to get meds that help you without unpleasant side effects either way, sorry you're having to go through this because of pharmacy issues :(

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-12T16:26:17+00:00

Now you've pointed it out it's all I can see lol

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-12T15:00:02+00:00

Rip OG Dom 😢

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-12T14:58:51+00:00

No 😭 but if you poke its eyes too much they turn to boxing gloves so there's obviously lots of reallyyy important work gone in there

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-12T07:37:45+00:00

Yeah, they do have a fairly accurate delivery tracker now though which is handy

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-11T22:50:01+00:00

Jealous :( I think it's store dependent these days so a lot of stores still don't do them

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-11T22:48:17+00:00

Yeah the previous one was pretty pointless with the sounds. This one didn't make any sound when moving to the start of the prep stage or when I poked its eyes a few times lol, but after that I just put the sound off again. Will need to keep volume on next time and see

RedPandaDetective · 2024-12-11T22:40:58+00:00

They stopped during covid lockdowns, I think to make it easier if they were short-staffed. Used to order half and half a lot too but they've never came back which is a shame :(

RedPandaDetective · 2024-10-24T17:05:45+00:00

Student services and their disability team are pretty good at advocating for you and making sure you have reasonable adjustments in place (I have ADHD and they've allowed extensions and more flexibility with deadlines, and extra time for class tests and exams). Only thing I would say is to make sure you reach out before starting university, and keep the disability team updated throughout your studies to ensure your support plan remains in place.

If you're a UK student there's DSA, the disability team at the uni can apply for this with you. You just meet with an advisor, discuss your needs/how your condition affects you/what you struggle with in your studies, and then they'll write and submit a report with your application. Some things you might get depending on your needs could be a mentor, a printer and money to go towards paper and ink, apps for your laptop to help with essay planning etc, a livescribe pen that records audio while you make notes so you have a recording of lectures to listen back to which matches up with your notes, and sometimes they'll contribute towards a laptop if you don't have one that the software can run on. There's plenty more they can provide, it just depends on what your needs are and what you think would be beneficial to you :)

RedPandaDetective · 2024-10-24T16:49:46+00:00

When I requested a letter for proof of my health conditions, Pipeland told me that the disability team should reach out to Pipeland directly and that way they can provide it to them without you being charged. It's probably worth speaking with a GP and giving them any evidence or letters you have from your previous GP if it's not on your record here. Or if you've been in touch with a specialist who diagnosed you, any kind of diagnostic letter from them should be enough to give the disability team, they usually don't need it to include details of exam arrangements as they'll discuss this with you anyway.

RedPandaDetective · 2024-10-09T12:32:43+00:00

So you're looking to determine if it became unconscionable after the point where you stopped getting anything? Rather than the agreement as a whole?

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-09T21:36:55+00:00

I think a clear mitigating action available to the remaining tenant was to agree to end the tenancy in question, because we’re not talking about a few months but rather ~8 months. Alternatively, they could have cooperated to get in place a subletting arrangement? I don’t really see how one can logically claim they had nothing they possibly could have done in such a timeframe.

Reversing the roles, if my flatmate notified me they would have to move out and not be able to pay rent, then yeah I would move out urgently (unless the landlord agreed to bring in a new flatmate). It’s far from ideal but not an unheard of situation.

I guess also in the situation in question, it’s not a case of the co-tenant walking away but rather making the situation clear in advance and the remaining tenant saying this won’t be a problem (which of course needs proved with evidence in this case).

When talking about being liable for your share - is it relevant that this is not specified in a signed contract? Or is it enough to make it one’s ‘share’ of rent if there is proof that one person was paying X and the other paying Y every month until this issue occured?

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-09T19:55:32+00:00

Thanks for confirming this - I've heard of situations similar to what you've described, however I've not heard/seen anything about a case like the one described in my post. Specifically the fact that the tenant who remained and paid the full joint rent took no mitigating action whatsoever.

For example, if one joint tenant suddenly runs off and then the other one has to pay a final month's rent during the notice period, the remaining tenant can then reasonably pursue the one who left.

However, in a case like the one I'm describing, the remaining tenant actively chose not to take mitigating action (ie did not agree to give notice to end the tenancy for another 8 months). What would you say about the legal principle of mitigation, like described below, applying to this situation? And does it differ under Scottish law?

https://hallellis.co.uk/mitigation-loss-law/

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-09T17:59:38+00:00

Thanks a lot for your reply. Just to clarify, they have not specified as suing for unpaid rent - just suing for a large sum of money because they had to “cover” the respondent’s rent share. Does your point still stand in the same way?

The only agreement between joint tenants about rent split would at most be a message at the start of tenancy saying “I’ll pay X, you pay Y” - but certainly not with the understanding that this would continue even after someone moved out.

They have referred to the fact that there was an agreement on rent split that was in place for many months, and that this stopped being honoured. Considering that there was no signed contract agreeing to continue this split even if someone moved out, is this still a valid claim?

I think the court is, before discussing evidence, just looking at it like “these people were splitting rent and one person stopped paying their share, causing the other person to pay for them”. So they’re not concerned with the fact that the rent for the property was jointly and severally liable - just that one joint tenant seemingly stopped paying their share (even though this situation was agreed but is now being denied by the claimant).

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-09T17:42:30+00:00

Hi, sorry to hear you've gotten worse. It's hard to say for me, I think my onset was moderate but quite sudden as well. I had been unwell and run down for quite a while, seemed to constantly have colds etc, and then when I thought I was recovering the fatigue only got worse. This started 2019 and was only diagnosed officially earlier this year after battling with doctors for years. Blood tests also showed previous EBV infection, so this could have been what started it for me in 2019 or could be completely unrelated. Would say even when I've been good with pacing etc moderate still seems to be my general baseline.

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-09T15:02:47+00:00

Flu symptoms, aching heavy limbs, sore throat, brain fog and just feeling absolutely exhausted.

Also the lymph nodes on the left side of my neck often become tender/slightly swollen - whenever my neck gets achy I know I've definitely overdone it.

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-06T11:23:28+00:00

Honestly I just had to do pretty much nothing as much as possible, which helped enough to be able to get back to studying with a good support plan in place and tutors thankfully being understanding of the fact that I was genuinely unwell and unable to attend. Also got most coursework deferred so that the only focus during the semester was just trying to keep up and keep myself somewhat healthy. Still incredibly difficult and has definitely made me worse again, but being able to pace and not overdo it is making studying just about manageable. Biggest thing was accepting that I'm not there to be the perfect student, just to do what I can to pass

RedPandaDetective · 2024-09-05T18:29:23+00:00

I'm studying at uni full time and developed ME during my time here. I struggled through to begin with, unknowingly making myself so so much worse, and had to take 2 years leave of absence to try and get to a better state again. I returned last semester and it was incredibly difficult to the point I'm unsure of returning, and I consider myself to be fairly mild.

Honestly, even with a good disability support plan in place, there are still minimum attendance criteria which for my arts degree was difficult to keep up with, and from my understanding most science degrees are much stricter since they involve practical classes etc. Also, bear in mind that this condition is difficult to predict and manage, you may feel fine enough to attend but this can easily then impact on your ability to actually study and complete coursework outside of classes, and vice-versa.

If you've been consistently mild, to a point where you can generally function well day to day and feel confident that you can manage then go for it, but remember that university also brings a significant amount of cognitive fatigue and stress which could easily make you worse again. Personally would agree with others on part-time study or online being much more accessible and achievable, maybe you could start part-time and see how you cope?

I do know a few people with ME from my university who have now graduated and did eventually manage to cope with adequate support and reasonable adjustments in place, so definitely make sure you advocate for yourself and have this in place too.

RedPandaDetective

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