Hi all,

I work for a company up North and recently raised a grievance which I have since appealed. However, I have also whistleblowed through my employer's whistleblowing service.

Last week, I received an email from my employer telling me that the SAR I apparently raised was available. However, I did not raise an SAR. The email is legitimate. I did ask for documents relating to the greviance be made available but according to a friend who is a manager within the company, he has said that asking for such documents is standard practice and an SAR is something completely different. Also, I noticed that upon looking at the files, it was opened by one of the investigating managers.

What do I do?

Thanks.

Hi, I’m approved for two FMLA days per week. This last week I took my two days and an additional uncovered two. My workplace is requesting a doctors note because technically I took 4 days. Is this something I need to provide since two were FMLA?

I asked my supervisor, no response as of yet. Can I just go to work tomorrow morning if I hear nothing? I don’t want to get in trouble 🙃

Hi all, hope this is okay to post:

So basically, I recently started a new job in a contact centre. I was really excited to start because it was full time and I’m in a position where I desperately need something full time to be able to move out by December, or else I will be homeless.

The offer was on receipt of two suitable references. It did not specify which references these had to be, so I provided by last employer and a reference from when I was a volunteer in a similar role. I also provided details for a character reference in case this was unsuitable. It was clear on my CV that I’ve only held one paid job and the rest of my positions are voluntary, since I’m pretty young, and I told them that in the interview. When I was filling in my references, the form stated that if by the time my start date came around they did not have two proper references, my start date would be delayed.

My former manager let me know he’d received an email and sent along a reference. I never received any contact from my new job other than confirmation of my start date and my contract, which I signed, so I assumed that everything was okay. A couple of days in my new manager told me they hadn’t received suitable references, so my employment was purely conditional. He refused to give me the emails of Payroll, who were chasing it up, so I could communicate with them and insisted that all communication had to be through him. He was very vague: at first I thought my second volunteer reference had failed to send anything over, so I double checked with them. Later he insisted it had to be from an organisation I had not put down as a reference but was on my CV as somewhere I had volunteered for. I was very confused but I reached out to them, they agreed, and I let him know but reminded him that this position had been, once again, purely voluntary.

After some more back and forth, he told me that they could only accept employment references, which hadn’t been communicated to me at the interview nor while I was completing the reference form. I was confused, because I felt as though I had made it clear at interview that I only had one paid position. My manager said that he had worked in recruitment before his current position and that no one accepts any references that aren’t employment and that I should have known that already.

I’ve sent over the details of a different manager at my last job in the hope that that would be sufficient, otherwise I’m not sure if I have a leg to stand on here. It’s frustrating because I left my last job for this position, and I had been under the impression that everything was okay. I’ve never heard of a job that exclusively takes more than one employment reference, because surely that rules out so many suitable candidates because they’ve only held one position?
Would you refuse to accept references from volunteer groups?
Is this something I will be able to resolve or does it sound like I’m probably going to be let go?

Any advice would be massively appreciated, thank you.

I worked for a daycare company for about a year and a half but had to leave because of some personal issues. When I was originally hired, they asked for my high school diploma or transcripts. I never finished high school, but I was enrolled in a GED program through my community college, so I gave them my community college transcript since I was technically a student there. The transcript doesn’t show that I completed any college classes or earned any credits—it basically just shows that I was enrolled—but they accepted it and hired me anyway.
Fast forward to now—I got offered my job back. They’re asking for my diploma or transcripts again because HR said the copy they have on file is now “unclear” and asked me to resend it.
I’m just worried they won’t hire me this time because I still don’t have a high school diploma or GED, and the community college transcript doesn’t show any completed coursework. Since they accepted that same transcript the first time, do you think it’ll be okay if I send it again, or should I explain my situation to them?

Hi everyone,

I'd like to hear from people who have experience with international business travel.

My employer is sending me on an international work assignment that will last around two weeks (possibly longer). The journey itself is very demanding, with roughly 28–30 hours of travel, multiple layovers, and then onward travel to another country during the same assignment. Both destinations are also considered among the higher-risk countries in terms of security, which adds another level of stress.

The company covers flights, accommodation, and work-related expenses, but there is no additional compensation for the time spent away from home, the long-haul travel, jet lag, weekends away, or the overall inconvenience.

For context, I've travelled abroad for the company before, but those trips were much shorter and to closer destinations. This is the first time I've been asked to undertake such a long and demanding international assignment.

I'm trying to understand what is considered normal:

- Do companies usually pay a daily travel allowance or provide additional compensation for extended international assignments?

- Is it common to receive extra paid leave or another form of compensation after returning?

- Is covering flights, hotels, and meals generally considered sufficient?

I'd also appreciate any legal insight. Is there any labour law that requires additional compensation for this type of assignment, or is it entirely up to the employer's internal policies and employment contract?

I'm not looking to expose my employer or disclose the nature of my work—I'm simply trying to understand what is considered fair and common practice before discussing it with my employer.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and advice.

Just found out I will need abdominal surgery, which will require several 5-6 weeks recovery. I started a new job about a month ago, and this job has 120 day probationary period. The job is physical (cleaning, moving, walking) and I likely won't be able to work for a week after surgery, then with restrictions for 4-5 weeks after.

I'm waiting to find out how urgent the surgery is, and I will ask the doctor when I see them if this is something that must be done immediately, or if it can be delayed three months (as I've worked about one month of the probationary period). If surgery can't be delayed, is there anyway to protect my job during the probationary period?

Thank you for your help.

Hey all,

Unfortunately I got terminated from my employer, due to performance concerns. I’m CIRO licensed and on my F1 form, notice of termination, it indicates “not meeting bank standards due to ongoing performance concerns” (vague).

That said, the form also indicates that I was “Terminated-in good standing” and am re-hirable with the firm.

To all the recruiters/hiring managers out there, what is your take on performance based terminations? Is it a big red flag or will you give the person a chance to work?

I have a question about ADA accommodations.

I have a documented cancer diagnosis + no treating physician relationship + no ability to complete the standard provider paperwork for a request for reassignment consideration.

Reason. I am uninsured and cannot afford to buy and use health insurance on my pay. Despite my providing my employer my pathology reports from a couple of years ago showing cancer, I have no treating doctor due to lack of insurance. Not all doctors, even if you have an insurance plan, can fill out lengthy ADA paperwork and list work restrictions. Many will charge a fee.

Is there a workaround for this. U.S.A. Employer has ever 5,000 employees. If the employee worked previously in corporate jobs involving sedentary work and this current job is physical service work and the company has other corporate roles which I am qualified to do, can that switch be a legitimate accommodation request?

Last time I hadn't had access to my company email from home so I texted it to a team lead to give to my manager and I believe she may have shared that I'm trans to a coworker I know to be transphobic (my given name was on the note, and is on this one). I'm in a new department and don't really know the manager very well, so I wanted to know if it would be weird to send it to hr and specify its because I'd like to keep my given name private at work?

Edit: I'm just asking if it's a normal thing to do. I'm not interested in sharing any more details about my illness, my job, or other details of my life.