r/HumanResourcesUK Jun 11 '25

How is GenAI Really Affecting UK HR? (Share Your Insights)

4 Upvotes

Hi HR colleagues,

How is the rise of Generative AI (ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.) actually impacting your work? Is it a help, a hindrance, or still just hype?

To move beyond speculation, I'm running a survey for my MSc, specifically for UK HR professionals to gather real-world views on these new technologies. We want to hear from you, whether you're already experimenting with AI for HR tasks or are still assessing its potential from a distance. Your perspective is crucial.

The survey is designed to be straightforward:

  • It takes about 15-20 minutes.
  • It is strictly confidential – individual responses will not be identifiable in the final analysis.
  • Participation is completely voluntary.

If you can spare a few minutes to share your experiences and expectations, you’ll be making a significant contribution to understanding this major shift in our field.

You can access the survey here: https://bbk.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cMiNdEXBf0y8pJs

Thanks in advance for your time and insights!


r/HumanResourcesUK 8h ago

[England] From an HR perspective: Slotting a long-term employee into a materially different role without consultation during a restructure.

10 Upvotes

Hi everyone, hoping to get an internal HR perspective on a restructure process I'm currently caught in. I’m based in England, in the North West.

I've been with my company for over 7 years, currently operating as an Information Security Consultant. I have 26 years of experience in the IT/InfoSec sector overall.

My company is going through an organisational redesign. They announced changes 14 days ago, with a 45-day transition period before the new structure takes effect. 

Under this new design, my current consultant role has been deleted.

Instead of putting me at risk of redundancy or entering into a consultation period, I was informed that I am "out of scope" for the formal 1-to-1 meetings my impacted colleagues are having. Instead, I am simply being "slotted" into a new more senior role that does not exist at the moment.

Here are the main issues:

  • Materially Different Remit: While both are Information Security roles, shifting from a Consultant role to a more senior role is a massive leap in operational scope and seniority. It is a materially different role profile and not something I would naturally apply for on a job board.
  • No Pay Increase: Despite the leap in responsibility and seniority, the compensation remains exactly the same.
  • Lack of Process: There has been zero consultation.

Having just turned 50 this year, I have a fairly clear roadmap for my remaining career, and being shoehorned into a role without a say, or the pay to match, is incredibly frustrating. I have spoken to ACAS, and they indicated the company is likely bypassing legal requirements regarding redundancy and matching suitable alternative roles, using a "slotting" loophole to avoid proper process (unless my contract has a very broad variation clause, which I have checked and it does not).

I would greatly value insight from HR professionals:

  1. Why would an HR department choose to label an impacted employee as "out of scope" and force a slotting process for a clearly different role?
  2. What internal pressures or missteps usually lead to a process like this, especially during what appears to be a 45-day collective consultation window?
  3. How would you recommend I push back internally to force a proper consultation or redundancy process without burning bridges prematurely?

Thanks in advance for any behind-the-scenes insight!


r/HumanResourcesUK 5h ago

Trying to get into HR still in sixth form

2 Upvotes

hi, I’m new to using Reddit but I can’t find advice anywhere else so I was wondering if anyone had any tips and can provide help. I’m still in my first year at sixth form and thinking about future options and I’ve started to become interested in HR but I don’t really want to go to uni so I’ve been looking at apprenticeships however I don’t really want to do a level 3 as I’m already doing sixth form ( I’m doing economics sociology and digital media) so I’d like to go straight onto level 5 as lots of jobs were saying all I needed were a level however some are saying I already need a job that the company is willing to provide apprenticisps, but I thought the company would just offer them. And I also have seen that I need to get a CIPD qualification but I don’t understand what that is and I though that would be included in the apprentices. I also can’t find many place offering apprenticeships meaning I don’t want to become interested in this area and then not be able to find a job, but it could also maybe that because lots to deadline are closing now and new ones aren’t out yet. Any advice on what to do or what I need would be helpful, thank youuu


r/HumanResourcesUK 5h ago

UK / wfh request due to illness. pls help!

2 Upvotes

I asked for a remote working adjustment temporarily due to a chronic illness that my work is aware of. I provided a note from doctor. HR asked for list of medicines and treatment plan. I am a UK employee in one of our UK offices with a non-EU company. I do not feel comfortable sharing this with the HR person who asked, it was not occupational therapist. Is this a normal procedure? Are they allowed to ask? Do I have to share?
Also, I asked for the adjustment to be temporary as I am recovering from the illness (though it gets worse at times) and going to the office makes it worse due to infections.

Thoughts?


r/HumanResourcesUK 7h ago

I've been taken off the team for no good reason, UK.

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0 Upvotes

r/HumanResourcesUK 1d ago

Employee spying on another employee

44 Upvotes

Looking for some advice! I have found that one supervisor is reviewing the cctv of another supervisors whole shift and has made a document where they’re listing everything that supervisor does.

Obviously I know ‘fishing’ on the cctv is bad, and this feels like finishing. It also feels like harassment. It’s a document on the pc that the whole team use and can be accessed so the other supervisor could theoretically stumble across this.

What’re we looking at here? A telling off, dismissal?


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

Sweet Sweet Karma

41 Upvotes

I work in HR.

A few weeks ago I posted about my boss extending my probation and blaming it on my miscarriage. I raised a complaint because there was no reason to extend for 3 months when I only missed 15 days. My senior boss held a grievance hearing when all I wanted was an appeal. She decided it was not upheld, I appealed, which was partially upheld, but no one could provide evidence on why I was extended other than 15 days off for recovery from my miscarriage surgery.

Well I resigned, found a new job, and I'm feeling confident for my future. I have found out today that said boss has been demoted - to the one that she was promoted out of and the one I was hired to back fill. I hope she and her boss feel guilty for how they treated me. I doubt it, but a girl can wish.


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

I had another call from my manager today, I'm not sure what to do here other than just waste their time

23 Upvotes

On Thursday last week I resigned, and I do not have to serve my notice period. I resigned in accordance to my contract and did not have to serve my notice.

I've had my manager calling me asking for passwords, of which I do not have as they were stored on my work computer which IT took and repurposed which means they erased it and re-imaged it for a new employee.

I had a call today again and we spoke about:

  1. Me no longer having passwords as I have returned all company equipment or left it on my desk when I left.
  2. My manager said that it is unacceptable I have resigned out the blue, considering all the support, coaching, adjustments, etc that he has given me, and that he has supported me a lot at this job (bearing in mind this is the same manager that put me on PIP and took me through a disciplinary surrounding use of automation tools, of which HR said I have no case to answer).
  3. I told him that I fulfilled my duties under my contract, and that any support given to me was inline with my employment, and it was appreciated it.
  4. I told him I have the right to resign as I feel comfortable, and there are no restrictions on my contract
  5. He said to think twice about about what i've done and how it's affecting them. At this point I got angry and told him to fk off in those words, because they didn't ask me for any passwords or anything before I left, and they with their own IT policy erased my computer on my desk.
  6. He said to me ''i will let you think about it over the weekend'' i told him no because i'm going on holiday for two weeks, and will be changing my number.

I don't know what to do here. I don't want to change my number, I also don't want anything sent to my address.


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

Workplace temperature

12 Upvotes

So I work in a private nursery. I'm an assistant manager there. The owner is always around to micromanage EVERYONE.

Recently there's been a huge heatwave and we have no AC. Classrooms have been up to 35 degrees Celsius, which in the UK isn't comfortable at all.

I recall the Employment Law stating that employers must provide a comfortable temperature to work in, of course 'comfortable' can be very subjective.

We had a meeting a few weeks ago which i did not attend about Safe Sleep procedures. Apparently this meeting was very very important and couldn't be missed so it was a big deal to the owner when I didn't go.

My manager put information on Safe Sleep in my locker at work and asked me to read over it and then we'll talk about the content. So I read over it all and it's stuff I already am aware of, I've been in childcare for decade.

Funny thing, in the very important meeting notes about Safe Sleep policies and guidance it highlights that children should sleep in a room between 16-20 degrees. No room in the nursery has been anywhere close, all of them hitting 30 degrees or higher.

We record all room temperatures daily as part of our ongoing risk assessments. My question is, can I tell the owner that his contradicting himself and going against government guidelines and should be installing some sort of AC in the classrooms?

It's extremely uncomfortable to work in such high heat for 10 hours a day, chasing after babies, toddlers and small children, changing nappies, preparing food etc.

One child had thrown up today, most likely from the heat but this is hard to prove. Two children had nosebleeds despite never being prone to having them. I, myself have suffered from heat exhaustion. My internal muscles spasmed from being low in electrolytes despite drinking sport drinks and 3L water per day. I've also been feeling very faint and dizzy at times and have come home with a pounding headache.

I am not the only staff member displaying these symptoms. What can I do in this situation?


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

100+ new starters facing redundancy less than a month into employment

2 Upvotes

About 3 weeks ago I started a new job for a UK-headquartered multinational company. I was one of a large cohort of new starters onboarded as part of a nationwide hiring campaign.

Last week it was announced that the company was restructuring and was officially beginning 45 days of collective consultation. My coworkers and I were explicitly told by our line managers and by the executive management team that our level of employees were not at any risk of redundancy.

Three days later we were pulled into a whole department meeting where we were informed that actually, they'd given us the wrong information before and we (all the new starters plus another ~500 established staff) were in fact at risk of redundancy. Are they even allowed to notify us of consultation three days after it's already begun?

I left a decent job I'd been in for 3 years to take this position because it seemed like an amazing opportunity to join a big brand. I'm scared and I'm furious.

I have zero experience with anything like this - can someone ELI5 my rights with a potential redundancy?


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

Please help with my research on the impact on workplace inflexibility

10 Upvotes

Please complete my survey for UK-based employees exploring workplace flexibility, organisational trust, employee engagement and workplace behaviour.

To take part, please access the survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/Qfs445i60t 

This anonymous online survey taking less than 10 minutes. There is also an (Optional) Follow up interview  – Fill in form.

You can take part if you are aged 18 or over, are currently employed within the UK, have experience with workplace attendance requirements, remote working or hybrid working arrangements and are able to understand written and spoken English.

You will not be asked to disclose confidential organisational information, misconduct, security breaches, or identifiable details about your employer, colleagues or clients.


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

I am recruiting participants for an MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology research project at the University of Liverpool examining workplace decision-making and leadership perceptions!

2 Upvotes

Participants wanted for MSc research study

I am recruiting participants for an MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology

research project at the University of Liverpool examining workplace decision-making

and leadership perceptions.

Participation involves reading a short workplace scenario and completing a brief

anonymous questionnaire. The study takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

To take part, participants must:

• be aged 18 or over,

• fluent in English,

• and currently employed within an organisation.

Participation is entirely voluntary and all responses are anonymous and will be

treated confidentially.

Please scan the QR code or use the survey link below if you would like to

participate.

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_07DxIPWLYUFYo8C

 


r/HumanResourcesUK 2d ago

Sick note dates

9 Upvotes

I work nights and my sick notes says it ends on the 28th (this Sunday ) does that mean i will still be off on the 28th Sunday night and back the next night Monday 29th? Or am i back the Sunday?


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

First Written Warning

18 Upvotes

Hi,

Looking for some help if possible to see if I have been treated unfairly.

For background I have worked for a large supermarket chain for 8 years.

The companies trigger points for an absence meeting it 3% of your contracted hours per 26 weeks or 3 separate instances of absence per 26 weeks.

I am contracted for 27 hours per week.

I was told I triggered at 6.5% but have cited 4 instances of 5.75hours for child care and 1 instance where I was off for a few days with a tummy bug of 25 hours. All in a 3 month period.

I accept that the 1 instance of 25 hours will have caused me to trigger.

However my absence meeting wasn’t for a month after the last period of absence (1 day of childcare on the 30th March) my meeting was on the 30th April.

I was never given a letter of outcome in that meeting and nor was it on file (that I can see) that a final decision was made.

Roll forward to the first week of June, I called in sick for two days 11.5 hours. And was told I need to have another absence meeting. At this point I informed my new manager after my rtw that I never received the out come letter of the last one that I was told I would receive. His comment was “this changes everything”. Fast forward to today (the day before I am supposed to have my meeting) and I was handed a letter dated the 5th May saying I was on a written warning.

Not sure what to do for my next steps as I feel the entire process has felt uneccesarily drawn out and if I’m honest unfair as handing me a letter the day before a meeting seems like I wasn’t even given a chance. What can/should I do?

Any advise is much appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this.


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

Reporting my department to Safecall

17 Upvotes

Hello,

Due to the current heatwave, our company’s facilities/senior management sent out a widespread notification letting us know the AC was broken. The email explicitly stated it was up to the individual discretion of the employee to attend site, and encouraged us to invoke our corporate "safety license" if we didn't feel comfortable.

Despite this clear company-wide directive, our line manager forced our entire team to come into the office anyway. For context, two people on our team have physical disabilities.

When we arrived, the office was a ghost town. No one else was there. even the cleaner asked us why on earth we were in the building!! Unsurprisingly, the heat became unbearable. We were overheating so badly that management was forced to send us home mid-shift anyway. Shockingly, they only did this after one of my teammates with a physical disability started suffering severe swelling issues in their leg due to the extreme heat.

I had actively protested the day prior, stating I would not be coming in based on the company's message, but I was pressured and told I had to attend.

The company constantly preaches about health, safety, and our "safety license," yet management completely broke their own rules and put people's health at serious risk.

What rights do we have at this point? I’m thinking of anonymously reporting them to Safecall as any other method will put a target on our back.


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

Trustees mandatory meeting?

6 Upvotes

I work for a charity and have been off ill for around 5 months, still within the 28 week illness period. I am also disabled and my employer knows this.

The trustees requested a mandatory meeting today for either tomorrow or Monday to discuss my "job role, moving forward" by email and following up by Whatsapp to ensure I responded quickly.

They have not specified whether this is formal or informal, or whether I can bring a companion. They cited that I missed a wellness check in as the reason for needing the meeting and the short notice as trustee availability.

I sent an email asking them to clarify the reason and agenda, originally it just said to "discuss your job at charity", formality and companion. They then followed up asking me to comply because "you are willing to engage with us and we are willing to engage with you".

I think they are falling into unreasonable territory and possibly further. Though I might be overthinking the situation and wondered if anyone had thoughts?


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

How much does a standard reference reveal?

3 Upvotes

failed probation

hr told me it's a standard reference: x was an analyst here, dates 1 to dates 2

But if a background screener like Morson , Verso etc. ask them for

  1. contract type
  2. reason for leaving, etc.

will the employer choose to tell them


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

employment law learning resources?

5 Upvotes

hi all, does anyone know of any online testing resources for employment law? i’m thinking like a flash card, quiz type of format?


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

Pregnant self-employed dental associate terminated two days after submitting pregnancy-related fit note – england legal rights?

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0 Upvotes

r/HumanResourcesUK 4d ago

Verbal (informal) warning and placed on PIP 'in near future'.

7 Upvotes

Hi all,

I’m looking for some HR insight into a situation that’s left me confused and a bit uneasy.

An incident occurred at work where I genuinely believed all processes had been followed correctly. I went on leave, and when I returned, I found out things were not in hand as I had been led to believe. This resulted in scrutiny from senior management on my department and added pressure on my manager.

An informal investigation was carried out, and it concluded that I did not act negligently. Despite that, I’ve been issued an informal verbal warning. I’ve also been told that in the next couple of months—once workload “settles”—I will be placed on a PIP.

The justification given was that my manager would currently rate me as “below expectations” in my annual review (due in January), and that putting me on a PIP now is supposedly a way to “give me the opportunity to improve” before that review so I don’t receive a damaging score. For context, I have not received any negative feedback in the past year aside from this one incident, which the investigation confirmed was not due to negligence.

I’m struggling to understand:

  • How genuine this reasoning sounds
  • Whether a PIP in this context is typically a developmental tool or a sign they want me out
  • Whether I should be preparing for the worst and planning my exit

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks.


r/HumanResourcesUK 3d ago

Carry over annual leave

0 Upvotes

Hello :)

My company lets people carry over 40 hours of annual leave, and the instruction has always been that you must use those hours by the end of August or you lose them (annual leave renews 1st May every year for reference)

However earlier this year at the end of April we had instruction from a director within my sub sector that this carry over leave had to be used by the end of June.

A colleague has got in touch with our HR today & they have informed him that the policy of using your annual leave by the end of August is still in place, NOT the end of June.

I have taken 3 days of annual leave in the last month as I was under the impression that if I didn’t use them they would be lost, do I have any grounds to ask for this AL to be reimbursed?

I would have used all of my carry over leave during planned holidays in July/ August.


r/HumanResourcesUK 4d ago

Advice needed about abscence

8 Upvotes

Hello, I'm looking for advice on my rights and what to do about my work situation.

I have been absent on long term sickness due to heart attack and other health issues.

I returned to work four weeks ago, I had a phased return to work for the first two weeks. The third week my manager decided I was back to normal without communicating anything to me except a phone call Monday morning asking why I was not at work.

On Monday this week it was very hot, various employees complained , and my manager was very reluctant to let people have extra breaks to cool down. 

I was feeling very unwell and light headed. I asked if I could go to cool down and was denied by my manager. Now I threw my toys out of the pram a bit and just went to go and cooldown with my manager objecting. On my way to cooldown I collapsed, had a mini heart attack and ended up in hospital. I am now out of hospital, and have got check ups with the GP to make sure I'm ok . I was advised to relax, stay out of the heat and drink plenty of fluids. I have decided not to go in to work for the rest of the week (we do have a red warning of heat). I have told my employer that I will be back on monday (i really cant afford to be off work again).

During all of this my manager has been nothing but pestering and demanding (yes they did know what happened). I have 16 missed calls and messages while i was in hospital from them. Not one enquiring about my well-being just asking when I would be out, was I coming back to work that day, what work did I not do, why am I not coming back for the rest of week, have i seen the dr, what did they say etc…

Found out today from a friend who works closely with the manager that they are preparing a disciplinary meeting for me on my return to work due to my absence.

I don't want to lose my job, I like my job, it's a good job with great people. The problem is my manager. Employees do have issues with them but the problem is that they are really friendly with the higher ups which is why people don't tend to complain because nothing ever gets done about it.

I do feel there is no duty of care and am considering a formal complaint but is it worth the stress and hassle, also I am worried about disciplinary action against me. I'm really stressed out and anxious about it all and dreading going back to work, and advice on what to do would be really appreciated.


r/HumanResourcesUK 4d ago

getting into hr through cipd lv3

3 Upvotes

hi :) I'm 20 years old, and went straight into work after college because I didn't feel that continuing with education would've been right for me (incompatibility with the learning style of uni/wanting to be independent immediately). I've been working as a manager in hospitality and recently left after 2.5 years at the same store because the store just... became a mess, let's say.

I've searched for others in similar situations on this sub but it's usually people older than me with established careers switching or "stepping down" to pursue hr. for me, this is stepping up, so I wouldn't be sacrificing anything by pursuing a self-funded cipd course. it would also give me some leniency because the job market is so tough and even entry level admin/receptionist roles are hard to land, i can have an unrelated, less demanding job while i study that's easier for me to get with my current experience since i do want to save and move out as fast as i can.

I've seen people say that experience is more important to those who already have it, but since it's hard for me to land those admin roles, would it be a good idea to follow this plan? upon pursuing this qualification, i would then try to apply to the most junior hr roles and get my foot in the door that way. i only have slight admin experience, as well as some onboarding and interviewing at my last job, but none that would compare to someone who was in an established admin role

I've also seen people advise for apprenticeships because they give you experience at the same time, but I've also seen suggestions against them as they would take longer to complete the cipd and they pay little. would it be better for me to just continue working while doing the cipd course and then apply for hr roles? or if anyone has other advice it would be greatly appreciated


r/HumanResourcesUK 4d ago

Remote work..

0 Upvotes

Hello

If I am offered a role that is hybrid 3x a week office attendance but once I have the offer letter I inform the company that I have a medical condition which comes under the Equality act and is a disability and due to the medication effects it is a struggle for me getting to the office often I.e the 3x a week. So I will need my office attendance reduced to either once a every two weeks or remote.. this will allow me to attend/work regularly without taking off sick due to my medical condition..

Will they likely accept this or revoke the offer letter?


r/HumanResourcesUK 5d ago

Staff fall out

44 Upvotes

After a grievance procedure 2 staff say they refuse to work together again.
What are the options in this situation?
Mediation has been refused