Interview questions

Salary, notice and the practical questions

Pay, notice periods, gaps in your CV, the right to work and availability: honest, confident answers to the practical questions.

From the interviewer's side

What the interviewer is looking for

  • Whether hiring you is workable: whether your pay expectations fit the budget, when you could start, whether you can work the hours and whether you can legally work in the UK.
  • Honesty. Most of these answers are checked later through references and documents, so a straight answer matters more than a perfect one.
  • Market awareness. A realistic, researched salary expectation tells the interviewer you understand the level of the job.
  • Fair, consistent treatment. Good employers ask every candidate the same practical questions at the same stage, and never use them as a back door to ask about family, health or background.
  • Calm handling of awkward topics. A short, confident explanation of a gap or a notice period reassures far more than a defensive or rambling one.

For candidates

How to prepare

  • Research pay before the interview: the advertised range, similar jobs in your area and the level of the role. Decide the lowest figure you would genuinely accept.
  • Check your contract for your exact notice period, and any other terms about leaving, before anyone asks.
  • Know how you will prove your right to work: for example, a passport if you are a British or Irish citizen, or a share code or immigration document if you are not.
  • Prepare one or two calm sentences for any gap in your CV. You choose how much to share, and you do not have to give medical details.
  • This page is general information, not legal advice. If you think a question crossed a line, Acas and Citizens Advice give free, impartial guidance.

What are your salary expectations?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer needs to know whether your expectations fit their budget, and your answer also tells them how well you understand the level of the job. A researched, realistic figure suggests you know the market. A figure far too high or far too low can make them wonder whether you have understood the role.

What a strong answer shows

  • A fairly narrow range based on research, not a guess.
  • A bottom figure you would genuinely accept.
  • Openness to the whole package, such as pension, leave, training and flexible working.
  • The confidence to ask for their budgeted range when it has not been shared.

What loses marks

  • Having no idea at all what the job pays.
  • A figure well outside the advertised range, with no reason given.
  • Starting to haggle hard before you have an offer.

How to answer

  1. Look at the advertised pay and at similar jobs in your area, then set a range narrow enough to be useful.
  2. Give the range with a short reason: your experience, a qualification or local rates.
  3. Say you are open to discussing the full package.
  4. If no pay was advertised, it is fine to ask what they have budgeted for the role before you name a figure.

An example answer

The advert gave a range of £28,000 to £33,000, and from looking at similar payroll roles in Bristol, I think £30,000 to £32,000 would be fair for my experience. I have run a monthly payroll for around two hundred staff for four years, and I hold a payroll qualification, so I would be able to work independently from the start. I am also interested in the package as a whole, so the pension, the study support and the hybrid working you mentioned all matter to me. I would be happy to talk it through in more detail once we both know this is the right fit.

What is your current salary?

What the interviewer is really asking

Some employers use your current pay as a starting point for an offer, or as a quick check on your level. No UK law stops them asking, but you do not have to answer. Some employers have chosen to stop asking altogether, because basing a new salary on an old one can carry past unfairness, such as a pay gap, into a new job.

What a strong answer shows

  • A calm, polite answer, whether or not you share the figure.
  • A focus on what this role is worth, backed by research.
  • Honesty: if you do give a figure, it is accurate.

What loses marks

  • Inventing or inflating your current pay, which can come to light later.
  • Declining in a way that sounds hostile or evasive.
  • Complaining at length that your current employer underpays you.

How to answer

  1. Decide before the interview whether you are comfortable sharing your current pay.
  2. If you would rather not, say so politely and give your expectation for this role instead.
  3. If you do share it, give the true figure, and explain briefly if the new role is a step up or a different kind of job.
  4. Either way, bring the conversation back to what this job involves and what it pays.

An example answer

If it is all right, I would rather not go into my current salary. This role is quite different from what I do now, and I would like any offer to reflect this job rather than my last one. What I can tell you is what I am looking for. From the advertised range and similar office manager jobs locally, I think £31,000 to £34,000 is right, given that I have led a team of twelve in a contact centre and would be taking on the budget and the suppliers here as well. I am happy to discuss the package as a whole, including the pension and the working pattern. And I can reassure you that the range you advertised works for me, or I would not have applied.

What is your notice period, and when could you start?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer is planning: they need to know when the role could be filled and whether you could start in time for a busy period or a training course. They also notice whether you intend to honour your current commitments, because someone willing to walk out on their present employer might one day do the same to them.

What a strong answer shows

  • An accurate notice period, taken from your contract.
  • Respect for your current employer and your obligations to them.
  • Willingness to ask about an earlier release, without promising it.
  • Awareness of anything else that affects your start date, such as booked leave.

What loses marks

  • Guessing, or giving a shorter period than your contract says.
  • Offering to leave without working your notice.
  • Promising a start date you cannot keep.

How to answer

  1. Check your contract before the interview. The legal minimum you must give is one week once you have been in a job for a month, but most contracts set a longer period.
  2. Give the exact period and the earliest realistic start date.
  3. Offer to ask your employer whether they could release you sooner, without promising they will.
  4. Mention any booked holiday or other commitments now, so there are no surprises later.

An example answer

My contract says one month's notice, so if I were offered the job and handed in my notice straight away, I could start in about five weeks. I would want to work my full notice, because my ward is short of staff at the moment and I would not want to leave my colleagues in a difficult position. I could ask my manager whether they would let me go a little earlier, but I cannot promise that, so I would plan on the full month. I should also mention that I have a week of annual leave booked in November. I am happy to talk about how we could work around it, for example by starting just before or just after.

Can you explain this gap in your CV?

What the interviewer is really asking

Most interviewers ask about a gap simply to understand your history, not to judge it. Breaks for caring, illness, redundancy, travel or study are common, and what the interviewer is really checking is that you are honest and ready to work now. If the break was for health reasons, you do not need to give details: before a job offer, employers may only ask about health for limited reasons, such as adjustments you need for the interview.

What a strong answer shows

  • A short, honest explanation, given without apology.
  • Anything useful you did or learned during the break.
  • Clear readiness to return now.
  • Skills kept up to date, or a plan to refresh them.

What loses marks

  • Hiding the gap by stretching dates, which usually comes to light when references are checked.
  • A long, defensive or very personal explanation.
  • Sounding unsure whether you are ready to come back.

How to answer

  1. Give the reason in one neutral sentence, such as caring for a relative, a health-related break, redundancy, travelling or study. You do not have to go into medical or family details.
  2. Add what you did or learned, if something is relevant: a course, volunteering or organising something complicated.
  3. Say clearly that you are ready now, and why.
  4. Bring the conversation back to the job and what you can offer.

An example answer

From 2023 to 2025 I took a career break to care for my father, who needed full-time support at home. He is now settled in a care home close by, so I am ready to return to work full time. I kept my hand in during the break. I managed his finances and dealt with the council and his pension providers, and last year I completed a bookkeeping course to refresh my skills on the accounting software most firms now use. Before the break I spent six years as an accounts assistant at a building firm, handling the purchase ledger and supplier payments, and that is exactly the work I want to get back to. I am confident I can pick it up quickly, and I would welcome the chance to show it.

Do you have the right to work in the UK? Will you need sponsorship?

What the interviewer is really asking

Every UK employer must check that the people they employ are allowed to work here, British citizens included, before they start. The interviewer needs a clear answer so they know whether they can offer you the job and whether they would need to sponsor you. Asked properly, it is a routine question: employers should apply the check the same way to every candidate at the same stage, whatever their name, accent or background.

What a strong answer shows

  • A clear, confident answer.
  • Knowing how you will prove it: a passport, a share code or another accepted document.
  • Saying plainly and early if you will need sponsorship, or if your permission to work has an end date or conditions.

What loses marks

  • A vague or evasive answer.
  • Leaving out a limit on your permission to work, such as an end date or a cap on hours.
  • Any dishonesty about your status, which will come out when your documents are checked.

How to answer

  1. Answer yes or no first, then say how you will prove it: for example, "Yes, I am a British citizen and I can bring my passport."
  2. If your permission has an end date or conditions, explain them briefly and say what would happen next.
  3. If you will need sponsorship, say so clearly, and check beforehand whether the employer holds a sponsor licence.
  4. Expect to be treated the same as every other candidate. Checking only people who seem to be from abroad is discriminatory, and Acas or Citizens Advice can help if you are worried.

An example answer

Yes, at the moment I do. I finished my master's in civil engineering last year and I am on a Graduate visa, which lets me work in any job without a sponsor until the summer of 2027. After that, I would need Skilled Worker sponsorship to stay in this role. I checked the public register before I applied and saw that you are a licensed sponsor, so I know it is something you have done before. I can give you a share code for my visa straight away, so you can complete your check before I start. I would rather be open about the timing now than have it come as a surprise later, because I am hoping to build my career here for the long term.

Are you able to work weekends, shifts or travel if the role needs it?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer needs to know that you can meet a genuine requirement of the job, so there are no surprises after you start. Asked fairly, the question goes to every candidate and is about the job, not your home life. It should never be a back door to asking about children, caring or religion, and you do not have to explain your personal circumstances to answer it.

What a strong answer shows

  • A clear, honest answer about what you can do.
  • Flexibility where you genuinely have it.
  • Any limits stated up front, with what you can offer instead.
  • An understanding of why the job needs it.

What loses marks

  • Saying yes to everything, then struggling or asking to change your pattern soon after starting.
  • A vague answer that leaves the interviewer unsure.
  • Complaining about unsocial hours in a job that clearly involves them.

How to answer

  1. Check the advert, and ask if you are unsure, exactly what the pattern involves: how many weekends, which shifts and how much travel.
  2. Say what you can do, clearly and positively.
  3. If there is a limit, state it simply and offer an alternative. You can share as much or as little of the reason as you like.
  4. You can ask for flexible working from your first day in a new job. The employer must consider it properly but can refuse for a genuine business reason, and the offer stage is usually the best time to raise it.

An example answer

Yes, shifts and weekends are fine. I have worked a rotating pattern of earlies, lates and nights at a parcel depot for the last two years, so I am used to planning around it and I know how to look after myself on nights. I noticed the advert mentions occasional travel to your other sites for training. That is fine too, though I would need a week's notice for anything overnight. The one thing I should be upfront about is Tuesday evenings, when I have a regular commitment I have kept for years. Outside that, I can work whatever pattern the rota needs, and I have always been happy to swap shifts to help out a colleague who is stuck.