Manager Trish is struggling to keep things running smoothly. She has a world-of-work seminar to run, the temp is late, and difficult employee Angela returns, fresh from winning a tribunal. Karl is the only member of staff Trish can rely on, but now even he's reached the end of his tether.

Trish gets a life-changing surprise on her birthday - or so she thinks. Needing time to think it through, she promotes Karl to acting manager, but Karl's fears that nobody will listen to him prove correct. With Trish out of the way, Paul takes the chance to expand his carpet-fitting business, while Danielle just stops working altogether. Karl is totally out of his depth and things get a whole lot worse when a jobseeker decides to stage a protest.