Anonymity and pseudonyms
The best HR stories are often the riskiest to tell. Here is exactly how we protect the person telling one.
Last updated
Draft pending review. This plain-language draft describes how the site is built to work today. It will be reviewed and finalized before the publication launches with real contributors.
Why this page exists
A redundancy round, an investigation, a decision you argued against and lost, the reason you left — these are the experiences other practitioners learn the most from, and the ones most likely to cost you something at work. Asking for those stories without saying how we protect you would be careless.
Your options
- Full name. The default, and the strongest for you professionally.
- First name and role context. “Priya, HRBP in a 400-person logistics company”.
- Role context only. No name at all, just enough for a reader to judge the situation.
- A pseudonym, labelled as one. We never present a pseudonym as a real name.
You choose when you submit, and can change your mind up to publication — and afterwards, by asking.
We still confirm who you are
Anonymous to readers is not anonymous to the editor. We confirm privately that you are a real practitioner who experienced what you describe. That record is held separately from the story, is never published, and is not shared with anyone outside the editorial team.
What is never published
- Your employer’s name, unless you explicitly ask for it.
- Details that identify colleagues, employees or a specific incident.
- Combinations that only one person could plausibly be — an editor checks for this on your behalf.
- Your email address, or anything you told us in confidence while developing the story.
What we cannot promise
We will not pretend to guarantees we cannot keep.
- We cannot make you unrecognisable to someone who was there. A colleague who lived the same week may recognize it however carefully it is written. If that is the risk that matters, tell us, and we will suggest changing the details or not publishing.
- We cannot resist a lawful order to disclose records, though we would tell you unless legally prevented.
- We cannot un-publish the internet. Withdrawal removes the story from this site; caches and copies may persist. See withdrawing a story.
If you are unsure
Ask before you write. Email editors@hr.cafe describing the situation in general terms and we will tell you honestly whether we think it can be published safely — including when the answer is no.