u/Agile-Lengthiness-75

I’m currently apartment‑hunting and came across Marlborough Court on Sunrise Parkway in Linford Wood. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who lives there or has lived there recently.

• Build quality:
Are the apartments well‑constructed, or do they have the usual “new build” issues?

• Heating & hot water:
How reliable is it day‑to‑day? Any problems with pressure or temperature?

• Electric heating panels: What’s their performance like especially in Winter

• Utilities: How costly are utilities especially during colder months/winter?

• Lift maintenance and general safety of the area/building?

I’ll appreciate any honest opinions!

The HE sector is brutal right now mass restructures, cuts, and Voluntary Redundancy (VR) schemes everywhere. My university based in England and Wales have opened its VR scheme, and I’m trying to understand the legal landscape, get a realistic sense of what’s typical, what’s possible, and what’s worth negotiating.

I’d appreciate input from anyone whose legal work represents the employee side especially employment lawyers/barristers who advise employees on settlement agreements and redundancies in the Higher Ed sector working for UK universities.

I know this is a highly sensitive and confidential area, so please only share what you’re comfortable with.

Key points I’m trying to understand:

Early steps: What should someone be doing now to prepare if they want to take the VR?

Negotiating the package:
• In your experience, is there scope to negotiate VR terms in the HE sector?
• What elements are realistically negotiable, and what tends to influence whether a university will move on financial or non‑financial terms?

Shortlisting lawyers:
•Any recommendations for selecting a good employment lawyer in this area?
•What criteria genuinely matters when selecting a strong employment lawyer for VR/settlement agreement work?

Legal fee contributions:
•What do lawyers usually charge for advising and signing a settlement?
•Have you been able to successfully negotiate a university offering a very low legal fee contribution up higher?

Thank you in advance! I genuinely appreciate any insight I can get from those who advise on settlement agreements cases in the HE sector.

It’s brutal in the HE sector at the moment with so many UK universities going through utter chaos, mass redundancies and cuts. My university have opened their voluntary redundancy scheme (VR). For context they have cited they will have at least 2x phases but if numbers are not sufficient will proceed to compulsory redundancies.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken voluntary redundancy in a UK university, as well as any employment lawyers who advise on these cases.

I know this is a highly sensitive and confidential topic, so please only share what you’re comfortable with.

Key things I’m trying to understand:

What were the most important steps you took early on?

Negotiating the package: Has anyone managed to negotiate a higher payout or better non-financial terms? What helped?

Legal fees: My university is low-balling and offering a woefully inadequate amount towards legal fees. Roughly how much did you spend? Were you able to get your university to increase their contribution towards your legal fees?

Employment lawyer recommendations: Anyone you’d genuinely recommend based on your own experience? How did you shortlist employment lawyers and what criteria actually matters?

I’m trying to get a realistic sense of what’s typical, what’s possible, and what’s worth considering.

Thank you in advance!

Hi all, how are you making direct calls to Ghana mobile numbers from the UK? Excluding WhatsApp and social media platforms.
This is to contact someone who is living fairly rural and has no consistent access to internet.

What paid apps or services are you using?

Hi all, with Skype no longer available, how are you making direct calls to Ghana from the UK?

What apps or services are you using excluding WhatsApp and social media platforms. Which are the best inexpensive options that exist? How much does it roughly cost you? Again excluding WhatsApp and other social media services.