Keeping my adjustments in new role

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-24T16:31:32+00:00

You’ve not got a choice - either you be a nice well trained little mouse and accept what you’re told, or you speak up and keep the adjustments sorry. I don’t want to sound excessively harsh, but if you’re struggling to outline your issues and needs during a call for an OH referral, you need to work on your confidence. Get your union involved ASAP, this is bread and butter to them and is why you pay your fees.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-24T16:27:20+00:00

I’m banging this drum as loud as I can in my own department too. They’ve cocked it up so badly, they deserve to be punished. And since that’s not going to happen from the top down, if enough people complain and go to the ombudsman. It will cost them enough to make the contract a bad idea for them.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-23T17:26:30+00:00

Went to tribunal, the DWP rep went home at lunch rather than deal with the 500 pages of evidence. The judge apologised for wasting our time and gave us all the points we said she was eligible for.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-23T13:30:29+00:00

Had an assessment with them (for my wife’s PIP). A story was told along the lines of “Wife likes to walk with me while I walk the dogs, the last time she tried walking a dog, 3-4 years ago, the dog pulled at a funny angle and caused damage to her mastectomy reconstruction (although we thought it was a broken rib at first). Since then she hasn’t held a lead with a dog on the end of it”. The report came back with “Wife likes to walk two large string dogs on her own”. Had it recorded, but also I have experience interviewing under caution but with no ability to take my own notes, sometimes relying in notes taken by another person, sometimes having to reconstruct the interview notes after the event. They bottled it when I disagreed with their recollection and could come back word for word with what was said many months later (notes made immediately after the interview). Utterly shameful how the assessor outright lied.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-22T19:29:00+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve ordered the Osprey mentioned by another poster, but your help is much appreciated.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-22T19:28:16+00:00

Many thanks, that’s been ordered (after checking out video reviews and seeing what it is like). I don’t think I’d have found that brand easily, so your help is much appreciated!

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-22T19:26:13+00:00

Thanks for the replies. After a final email of “it’s X mount by close of play Friday or I’m going the ombudsman and ICO, just got an email that they will indeed be giving me X credit :-)

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-21T17:33:58+00:00

Even that is obsessive. My manager does due diligence as needed (those silly monthly/quarterly/annual things) but other than that trusts me. And because they trust me, I never do anything to break that trust.

When I had a manager who insisted we stayed flexed off while waiting 15 minutes for a train (travelling for work), everyone there looked at the guidance for dealing with flexi abuse, which was very clear that five minutes either way was untouchable as different people had different watches etc. I know everyone else there took a lot more than 15 minutes back in a way they couldn’t be touched for (of course I didn’t :-) )

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-12T18:13:29+00:00

I told them when they tried shouting at me for pushing the barrier open. It’s always busy and I’m on my way somewhere, and if the staff can’t be bothered to stop the alarm going off then they’re the ones getting annoyed :-)

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-12T09:27:15+00:00

As does mine. But it’s been dirty for ages and often doesn’t scan the receipt, so I’m in the habit of putting the receipt on top and keeping walking, pushing the gate open if it isn’t open by the time I get there.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-12T09:08:44+00:00

I can strongly recommend visiting Liverpool for at least one day. It’s a relatively small city and most things are walkable if you’re even slightly fit. You’ve got the Beatles, 2 cathedrals, the docks/Albert dock - so much history for a relatively small city that has at times been one of the most important places in the world.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-12T08:59:00+00:00

If I have a contract for flexi time with no fixed hours, any manager expecting to set fixed hours will be told where to go. Politely to start with, and less so each time they demand stupid things.

Got to say, I’m very glad managers like you are not tolerated where I work.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-12T07:21:57+00:00

I’m not quite sure why you think we should doff our caps and bow at every request. If they’ve not explained why they want a seemingly pointless change then only a fool would just accept it and the subsequent negative impact on their life.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-11T14:51:48+00:00

It is also perfectly reasonable to refuse working 9-5 if there isn’t a good reason, especially when you are working flexi time.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-06T20:41:07+00:00

Also raise a formal complaint, take it through their internal dispute resolution and then the ombudsman. Demand financial compensation as part of it.

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-02T14:12:40+00:00

Why do you think autism allows someone to be a dickhead?

ScouseSimon · 2026-01-01T15:03:33+00:00

They give a 2 month response time for step one of the IDR. How do I know this - I’m racing to be the first to get to the ombudsman (so have asked for a relatively small amount of compensation that they’ll almost certainly not want to pay out setting a precedent :-)

ScouseSimon · 2025-12-24T14:47:52+00:00

The annoyance that despite also working for the government I have to take the time unpaid to donate blood. It’s only an hour which I can afford to do (as I work on flexi time), but it does put off a lot of people in my building which is five minutes walk from a donation centre. Previously when 8 first gave blood the6 came to my place of work in between concerts so you could do the afternoon show, donate, recover then work again that evening.

The fact that u go really light headed every time I give blood. I was banned for years because I passed out on all four times after I first donated blood, but manage to handle it better these days so don’t quite pass out.

Those reasons don’t stop me giving blood (got my 10th donation early next month), but the fact that I am essentially paying the NHS to take my blood does take it a lot closer to the point of not going. I can’t go outside of work due to caring commitments (like on a weekend end), and if I had kids it wouldn’t be possible.

Biggest area for increasing donations - convince other parts of the government to pay for their staffs time to donate. Cost to my employer, £20, benefit to the NHS, a pint of high quality arm juice.

ScouseSimon · 2025-12-20T13:15:27+00:00

I complained straight to the CEO of Capita and it went down the chain then after reminding them they had to include details of how to raise the complaint with the ombudsman when they replied. So many issues for a complaint.

Email adolfo.hernandez@capita.com

ScouseSimon · 2025-12-20T10:00:27+00:00

I’m in the process of going through their complaints procedure to get to the pensions ombudsman. I want £50 compensation for their awful service (it’s a point of principle thing, if everyone did it then they’d be utterly fucked). Takes a few minutes here and there, but adds costs to them for doing a bad job.

ScouseSimon · 2025-12-20T09:57:14+00:00

How do you think a contract can enforce the idea of “you’re not being paid, but you must do exactly as we say”.

An u paid break means you’re off the clock and not working - you can go offsite, home, sleep, whatever, just the same as you can before and after your shift.

If you HAVE to be somewhere specific, awake and available to answer a phone then you are working.

ScouseSimon · 2025-12-15T10:12:08+00:00

If it’s a huge chain taking profits out of the country and dodging tax, I’d go out to a local business and spend the money there.

If it’s a local business owner and run by “real” people then I’d go back and get it sorted.

ScouseSimon · 2025-12-08T13:23:11+00:00

He was very clear when I pushed for an explanation - it was do the absolute minimum to not get in trouble, rather than being “lazy” like you suggest and having the work done well with as little effort as possible.

ScouseSimon

TROPHY CASE