diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..817e967f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+import {
+  collectAllPositions,
+  resolveActiveEmployee,
+  type SnapshotEmployee,
+} from './freight-jwt.guard';
+
+// Shapes and ids taken from the real dev session for `test_dj_gl_director`
+// (iam.sessions 800ad793-…), an employee holding two posts on one row.
+const CHIEF = {
+  id: '990189f1-e872-4b8c-9f6a-36259a0df480',
+  employeePositionId: 'd0d527f6-f344-49aa-ab8b-25a448a770b6',
+  name: { en: 'Djibouti GL Chief' },
+  isDelegate: false,
+};
+const DIRECTOR = {
+  id: '258a8d82-28c4-401f-bf88-78f58bb6bd0e',
+  employeePositionId: 'b97aa265-5de8-4ffe-95bf-01f94d38a2df',
+  name: { en: 'Djibouti GL Director' },
+  isDelegate: false,
+};
+
+const EMPLOYEE_ID = '70545ee5-c7d7-4196-af7e-a7eb7e76b21b';
+const oneRow: SnapshotEmployee[] = [
+  { id: EMPLOYEE_ID, positions: [CHIEF, DIRECTOR] },
+];
+
+describe('resolveActiveEmployee', () => {
+  it('leaves the parent guard alone when no position header is sent', () => {
+    const { owner, active } = resolveActiveEmployee(
+      oneRow,
+      undefined,
+      EMPLOYEE_ID,
+    );
+
+    expect(owner).toBe(oneRow[0]);
+    expect(active).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("resolves freight's header value (employeePositionId)", () => {
+    const { active } = resolveActiveEmployee(
+      oneRow,
+      DIRECTOR.employeePositionId,
+      EMPLOYEE_ID,
+    );
+
+    expect(active).toBe(DIRECTOR);
+  });
+
+  // The regression this guard exists for: the stock IAM guard matches the
+  // header against employeePositionId only, so Smart Office's position.id
+  // matched nothing and every request silently ran as positions[0].
+  it("resolves Smart Office's header value (position.id)", () => {
+    const { active } = resolveActiveEmployee(oneRow, DIRECTOR.id, EMPLOYEE_ID);
+
+    expect(active).toBe(DIRECTOR);
+    expect(active).not.toBe(CHIEF);
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to the parent row when the header names nothing', () => {
+    const { owner, active } = resolveActiveEmployee(
+      oneRow,
+      'not-a-position-id',
+      EMPLOYEE_ID,
+    );
+
+    expect(owner).toBe(oneRow[0]);
+    expect(active).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  describe('when the two posts sit on different employee rows', () => {
+    const smartOfficeRow: SnapshotEmployee = {
+      id: 'emp-smart-office',
+      positions: [CHIEF],
+    };
+    const freightRow: SnapshotEmployee = {
+      id: 'emp-freight',
+      positions: [DIRECTOR],
+    };
+    const twoRows = [smartOfficeRow, freightRow];
+
+    it('selects the row that owns the requested position', () => {
+      const { owner, active } = resolveActiveEmployee(
+        twoRows,
+        DIRECTOR.employeePositionId,
+        // The parent guard matches the header against position.id only, so it
+        // matched neither row and fell through to the first.
+        smartOfficeRow.id,
+      );
+
+      expect(owner).toBe(freightRow);
+      expect(active).toBe(DIRECTOR);
+    });
+
+    it('keeps the parent row when no header is sent', () => {
+      const { owner } = resolveActiveEmployee(twoRows, undefined, freightRow.id);
+
+      expect(owner).toBe(freightRow);
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to the first row when the parent row is unknown', () => {
+      const { owner } = resolveActiveEmployee(twoRows, undefined, undefined);
+
+      expect(owner).toBe(smartOfficeRow);
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('collectAllPositions', () => {
+  it('unions posts held across separate employee rows', () => {
+    // The real shape: IAM keeps one employee row per organization, and "EDR"
+    // and "EDR Freight" are separate orgs, so a user holding a Smart Office
+    // post and a freight post owns one row each.
+    const smartOfficeRow: SnapshotEmployee = {
+      id: 'emp-edr',
+      organizationId: 'org-edr',
+      positions: [CHIEF],
+    };
+    const freightRow: SnapshotEmployee = {
+      id: 'emp-edr-freight',
+      organizationId: 'org-edr-freight',
+      positions: [DIRECTOR],
+    };
+
+    expect(collectAllPositions([smartOfficeRow, freightRow])).toEqual([
+      CHIEF,
+      DIRECTOR,
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps every post when they share one row', () => {
+    expect(collectAllPositions(oneRow)).toEqual([CHIEF, DIRECTOR]);
+  });
+
+  it('de-duplicates a post repeated across rows', () => {
+    const rows: SnapshotEmployee[] = [
+      { id: 'a', positions: [CHIEF] },
+      { id: 'b', positions: [CHIEF, DIRECTOR] },
+    ];
+
+    expect(collectAllPositions(rows)).toEqual([CHIEF, DIRECTOR]);
+  });
+
+  it('tolerates rows carrying no positions', () => {
+    const rows: SnapshotEmployee[] = [{ id: 'a' }, { id: 'b', positions: [] }];
+
+    expect(collectAllPositions(rows)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.ts
index 68b842217..9dbc36b73 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/common/freight-jwt.guard.ts
@@ -3,29 +3,124 @@ import { Reflector } from '@nestjs/core';
 import { InjectDataSource } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
 import { JwtGuard as IamJwtGuard } from '@tria-plc/api-common/modules/auth/services/jwt.guard';
 import type { TCurrentUser } from '@tria-plc/api-common/modules/auth/types/current-user.type';
+import { CURRENT_POSITION_ID } from '@tria-plc/api-common/utils/constants/tenant.constant';
 import { DataSource } from 'typeorm';
 
 /** One position as the login snapshot stores it (`iam.sessions.userInfo`). */
-type SnapshotPosition = { id?: string; [key: string]: unknown };
+export type SnapshotPosition = {
+  id?: string;
+  employeePositionId?: string;
+  isDelegate?: boolean;
+  [key: string]: unknown;
+};
 
-type SessionUserInfo = {
-  employee?: { id?: string; positions?: SnapshotPosition[] }[];
+/** One employee row as the snapshot stores it. A user may hold several. */
+export type SnapshotEmployee = {
+  id?: string;
+  positions?: SnapshotPosition[];
+  [key: string]: unknown;
+};
+
+type SessionUserInfo = { employee?: SnapshotEmployee[] };
+
+/**
+ * `x-current-position-id` is sent with two different meanings by two different
+ * frontends, and the IAM guard reads it both ways in the same function: it
+ * picks the EMPLOYEE row by `position.id` but the POSITION by
+ * `employeePositionId`. Freight sends `employeePositionId`, Smart Office sends
+ * `position.id` — so whichever value arrives, one of the two lookups silently
+ * matches nothing and falls back to the first entry.
+ *
+ * Matching both fields is what makes the header mean one thing again.
+ */
+const identifies = (position: SnapshotPosition, id: string): boolean =>
+  position?.id === id || position?.employeePositionId === id;
+
+/**
+ * Every post the user holds, across every employee row, first occurrence kept.
+ *
+ * IAM keeps one employee row per ORGANIZATION, and "EDR" and "EDR Freight" are
+ * separate organizations — so a user given a freight post and a Smart Office
+ * post owns two rows, one post on each. Only one row can be the active one, and
+ * a permission check that reads only that row cannot see the other post at all.
+ */
+export const collectAllPositions = (
+  employees: SnapshotEmployee[],
+): SnapshotPosition[] => {
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  const all: SnapshotPosition[] = [];
+
+  for (const employee of employees) {
+    for (const position of employee.positions ?? []) {
+      const key = position.employeePositionId ?? position.id;
+      if (key) {
+        if (seen.has(key)) continue;
+        seen.add(key);
+      }
+      all.push(position);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return all;
 };
 
 /**
- * Like the IAM JwtGuard, but keeps the caller's SECONDARY positions.
+ * Which employee row the caller is acting as, and which of its positions the
+ * request selected. Pure so it can be tested without a session or a token.
  *
- * IAM models an employee as holding many positions, and the login snapshot in
- * `iam.sessions.userInfo` carries all of them. `JwtGuard.parseToken` then
- * collapses that to a single `employee.position` — whichever the request
- * headers select, else `positions[0]` — and drops the rest. Non-delegate
- * secondary positions vanish entirely, so staff holding two posts resolve to
- * only one post's permissions and every check on the other one rejects them.
+ * `owner` is the row holding the requested position; failing that the row the
+ * parent guard already picked; failing that the first. `active` is undefined
+ * when no header was sent or it names nothing — the caller then leaves the
+ * parent's choice of `employee.position` alone.
+ */
+export const resolveActiveEmployee = (
+  employees: SnapshotEmployee[],
+  requestedId: string | undefined,
+  parentEmployeeId: string | undefined,
+): { owner: SnapshotEmployee | undefined; active: SnapshotPosition | undefined } => {
+  const owner =
+    (requestedId &&
+      employees.find((candidate) =>
+        (candidate.positions ?? []).some((position) =>
+          identifies(position, requestedId),
+        ),
+      )) ||
+    employees.find(
+      (candidate) => candidate.id && candidate.id === parentEmployeeId,
+    ) ||
+    employees[0];
+
+  const active = requestedId
+    ? (owner?.positions ?? []).find((position) =>
+        identifies(position, requestedId),
+      )
+    : undefined;
+
+  return { owner, active };
+};
+
+/**
+ * Like the IAM JwtGuard, but resolves the caller's position honestly.
  *
- * This re-attaches the full list as `employee.positions`. `employee.position`
- * is left exactly as the parent set it, so everything reading the single
- * position today (audit log, delegation deadline) is unaffected; only the
- * permission utils, which prefer the array, see the difference.
+ * IAM models an employee as holding many positions — and a user as possibly
+ * holding several employee rows — and the login snapshot in
+ * `iam.sessions.userInfo` carries all of them. `JwtGuard.parseToken` collapses
+ * that to a single `employee.position` and drops the rest, so staff holding two
+ * posts resolve to one post's permissions and every check on the other one
+ * rejects them.
+ *
+ * This guard re-reads the snapshot and fixes three things the parent gets wrong:
+ *
+ *  1. re-attaches the full position list as `employee.positions`, which is what
+ *     the permission utils union over;
+ *  2. selects the employee row that actually owns the requested position, so a
+ *     post held on a second employee row is reachable at all;
+ *  3. sets `employee.position` to the requested position when the parent's
+ *     one-sided id match missed it, keeping `auditUser` in step.
+ *
+ * Every correction is skipped unless the snapshot positively resolves it, so an
+ * unreadable session degrades to the parent's single-position behaviour rather
+ * than to no position at all.
  */
 @Injectable()
 export class FreightJwtGuard extends IamJwtGuard implements CanActivate {
@@ -35,7 +130,7 @@ export class FreightJwtGuard extends IamJwtGuard implements CanActivate {
   private static readonly CACHE_MAX_ENTRIES = 5_000;
   private readonly cache = new Map<
     string,
-    { positions: SnapshotPosition[]; expiresAt: number }
+    { employees: SnapshotEmployee[]; expiresAt: number }
   >();
 
   constructor(
@@ -48,44 +143,78 @@ export class FreightJwtGuard extends IamJwtGuard implements CanActivate {
   async canActivate(context: ExecutionContext): Promise<boolean> {
     if (!(await super.canActivate(context))) return false;
 
-    const user = context.switchToHttp().getRequest().user as
-      | TCurrentUser
-      | undefined;
-    const employee = user?.employee;
+    const request = context.switchToHttp().getRequest();
+    const user = request.user as TCurrentUser | undefined;
+    const employee = user?.employee as SnapshotEmployee | undefined;
     if (!employee || !user?.sessionId) return true;
 
-    const positions = await this.positionsForSession(
-      user.sessionId,
+    const employees = await this.employeesForSession(user.sessionId);
+    if (!employees.length) return true;
+
+    const requestedId = request.headers?.[CURRENT_POSITION_ID] as
+      | string
+      | undefined;
+
+    const { owner, active } = resolveActiveEmployee(
+      employees,
+      requestedId,
       employee.id,
     );
-    // Never blank out what the parent resolved: an unreadable session or a
-    // snapshot without positions must degrade to the single-position
-    // behaviour, not to no positions at all.
-    if (positions.length) {
-      (employee as { positions?: SnapshotPosition[] }).positions = positions;
+
+    const ownerPositions = owner?.positions ?? [];
+    // Never blank out what the parent resolved: a snapshot without positions
+    // must degrade to the single-position behaviour, not to no positions.
+    if (!ownerPositions.length) return true;
+
+    // Carries the owning row's id / unitId / organizationId too, which unit
+    // scoping downstream reads — a swapped row must be swapped whole.
+    Object.assign(employee, owner);
+
+    // `collectPermissionKeys` / `collectPositionTypeKeys` union over this, and
+    // a user's posts can span several employee rows (one per organization), so
+    // it carries every row's — otherwise a freight post is invisible whenever
+    // another organization's row wins the active slot.
+    employee.positions = collectAllPositions(employees);
+
+    // Delegation stays scoped to the active desk: yard scope widens on
+    // `delegatedPositions`, and someone standing in on another organization's
+    // row is not this desk's stand-in.
+    employee.delegatedPositions = ownerPositions.filter(
+      (position) => position.isDelegate,
+    );
+
+    // The full set, for `/auth/me` — the position picker has to be able to
+    // offer a desk on a row that is not the active one.
+    (user as { employeeRows?: SnapshotEmployee[] }).employeeRows = employees;
+
+    if (active) {
+      employee.position = active;
+      // The parent already built `auditUser` from the position it guessed.
+      if (request.auditUser) {
+        request.auditUser.employeeId = employee.id;
+        request.auditUser.positionId = active.id;
+        request.auditUser.employeePositionId = active.employeePositionId;
+      }
     }
+
     return true;
   }
 
-  /** Every position the login snapshot holds for this employee. */
-  private async positionsForSession(
+  /** Every employee row the login snapshot holds for this session. */
+  private async employeesForSession(
     sessionId: string,
-    employeeId: string | undefined,
-  ): Promise<SnapshotPosition[]> {
+  ): Promise<SnapshotEmployee[]> {
     const now = Date.now();
     const hit = this.cache.get(sessionId);
-    if (hit && hit.expiresAt > now) return hit.positions;
+    if (hit && hit.expiresAt > now) return hit.employees;
 
-    let positions: SnapshotPosition[] = [];
+    let employees: SnapshotEmployee[] = [];
     try {
       const rows: { userInfo: SessionUserInfo | null }[] = await this.ds.query(
         `SELECT "userInfo" FROM iam.sessions WHERE id = $1`,
         [sessionId],
       );
-      const employees = rows[0]?.userInfo?.employee ?? [];
-      const match =
-        employees.find((e) => e?.id && e.id === employeeId) ?? employees[0];
-      positions = match?.positions ?? [];
+      employees = rows[0]?.userInfo?.employee ?? [];
     } catch {
       return []; // iam unreachable — caller keeps the parent's single position
     }
@@ -93,9 +222,9 @@ export class FreightJwtGuard extends IamJwtGuard implements CanActivate {
     if (this.cache.size >= FreightJwtGuard.CACHE_MAX_ENTRIES)
       this.cache.clear();
     this.cache.set(sessionId, {
-      positions,
+      employees,
       expiresAt: now + FreightJwtGuard.CACHE_TTL_MS,
     });
-    return positions;
+    return employees;
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/audit/audit.interceptor.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/audit/audit.interceptor.ts
index cf12fd4d3..8b5c82e9c 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/audit/audit.interceptor.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/audit/audit.interceptor.ts
@@ -4,24 +4,17 @@ import {
   HttpException,
   Injectable,
   NestInterceptor,
-} from '@nestjs/common';
-import { Observable, tap } from 'rxjs';
-import type { Request, Response } from 'express';
+} from "@nestjs/common";
+import { Observable, tap } from "rxjs";
+import type { Request, Response } from "express";
 
-import { AuditService } from './audit.service';
-import {
-  auditEndpointMatcher,
-  type MatchedAuditEndpoint,
-} from './audit-endpoint-matcher';
-import {
-  isAuditableActor,
-  resolveAuditActor,
-  type AuditActorSource,
-} from './audit-actor';
-import { redactUrlQuery, sanitizeRequestPayload } from './audit.sanitizer';
+import { AuditService } from "./audit.service";
+import { auditEndpointMatcher, type MatchedAuditEndpoint } from "./audit-endpoint-matcher";
+import { isAuditableActor, resolveAuditActor, type AuditActorSource } from "./audit-actor";
+import { redactUrlQuery, sanitizeRequestPayload } from "./audit.sanitizer";
 
 /** Methods that can change state. Everything else is never audited. */
-const AUDITED_METHODS = new Set(['POST', 'PUT', 'PATCH', 'DELETE']);
+const AUDITED_METHODS = new Set(["POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE"]);
 
 /** `error_message` ceiling — stack traces do not belong in this column. */
 const MAX_ERROR_LENGTH = 2_000;
@@ -52,7 +45,7 @@ export class AuditInterceptor implements NestInterceptor {
 
   intercept(context: ExecutionContext, next: CallHandler): Observable<unknown> {
     // Non-HTTP contexts (the RabbitMQ microservice transport) have no request.
-    if (context.getType() !== 'http') return next.handle();
+    if (context.getType() !== "http") return next.handle();
 
     const httpContext = context.switchToHttp();
     const request = httpContext.getRequest<RequestWithUser>();
@@ -72,10 +65,7 @@ export class AuditInterceptor implements NestInterceptor {
     const startedAt = Date.now();
     // The body is captured up front: handlers are free to mutate the DTO they
     // are given, so reading it after the fact can record post-mutation values.
-    const requestPayload = sanitizeRequestPayload(
-      request.body,
-      request.files ?? request.file,
-    );
+    const requestPayload = sanitizeRequestPayload(request.body, request.files ?? request.file);
 
     return next.handle().pipe(
       tap({
@@ -137,7 +127,6 @@ export class AuditInterceptor implements NestInterceptor {
       resourceId: matched.resourceId,
       request: requestPayload,
       ipAddress: resolveIp(request),
-      userAgent: request.headers['user-agent'] ?? null,
       requestId: resolveRequestId(request),
       durationMs: Date.now() - startedAt,
     });
@@ -154,10 +143,10 @@ function resolveErrorMessage(error: unknown): string | null {
   if (error instanceof HttpException) {
     const response = error.getResponse();
     const message =
-      typeof response === 'string'
+      typeof response === "string"
         ? response
         : ((response as { message?: unknown })?.message ?? error.message);
-    const text = Array.isArray(message) ? message.join('; ') : String(message);
+    const text = Array.isArray(message) ? message.join("; ") : String(message);
     return text.slice(0, MAX_ERROR_LENGTH);
   }
 
@@ -171,19 +160,19 @@ function resolveErrorMessage(error: unknown): string | null {
  * entry (the original client) taken.
  */
 function resolveIp(request: Request): string | null {
-  const forwarded = request.headers['x-forwarded-for'];
+  const forwarded = request.headers["x-forwarded-for"];
   const raw = Array.isArray(forwarded) ? forwarded[0] : forwarded;
-  const candidate = raw?.split(',')[0]?.trim() || request.ip;
+  const candidate = raw?.split(",")[0]?.trim() || request.ip;
   if (!candidate) return null;
 
   // Normalize IPv4-mapped IPv6 (`::ffff:10.0.0.1`), which the `inet` column
   // accepts but which reads badly and breaks grouping by address.
-  return candidate.startsWith('::ffff:') ? candidate.slice(7) : candidate;
+  return candidate.startsWith("::ffff:") ? candidate.slice(7) : candidate;
 }
 
 /** Correlation id from the proxy/tracing layer, when present. */
 function resolveRequestId(request: RequestWithUser): string | null {
-  const header = request.headers['x-request-id'] ?? request.headers['x-correlation-id'];
+  const header = request.headers["x-request-id"] ?? request.headers["x-correlation-id"];
   const value = Array.isArray(header) ? header[0] : header;
   return (value ?? request.id ?? null)?.toString().slice(0, 64) ?? null;
 }
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/auth/freight-me.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/auth/freight-me.service.ts
index b897c5fef..0195bba47 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/auth/freight-me.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/auth/freight-me.service.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { InjectDataSource } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
 import type { TCurrentUser } from '@tria-plc/api-common/modules/auth/types/current-user.type';
 import { DataSource } from 'typeorm';
 
+import type { SnapshotEmployee } from '../../common/freight-jwt.guard';
 import {
   collectPermissionKeys,
   isSuperAdmin,
@@ -82,8 +83,26 @@ export class FreightMeService {
         ? [employeeRecord.position]
         : [];
 
-    const enrichedPositions = await Promise.all(
-      rawPositions.map(async (position) => {
+    // IAM keeps one employee row per organization, so a user holding a freight
+    // post and a Smart Office post owns two rows. The backoffice reads
+    // `employee` as an array and the position picker lists what it finds there
+    // — returning only the active row hides the other desk and makes it
+    // unselectable. `FreightJwtGuard` leaves the full set here.
+    const employeeRows = (user as { employeeRows?: SnapshotEmployee[] })
+      .employeeRows;
+
+    // Active row first: the backoffice reads `employee[0]` for
+    // unitId/organizationId, so the desk the caller is acting as must lead.
+    const rows: SnapshotEmployee[] = employeeRows?.length
+      ? [
+          ...employeeRows.filter((row) => row.id === employeeRecord?.id),
+          ...employeeRows.filter((row) => row.id !== employeeRecord?.id),
+        ]
+      : employeeRecord
+        ? [{ ...employeeRecord, positions: rawPositions } as SnapshotEmployee]
+        : [];
+
+    const enrichPosition = async (position: TokenPosition) => {
         const [positionType, positionTypePermissionKeys] = await Promise.all([
           this.lookupPositionType(position.id),
           this.lookupPositionTypePermissions(position.id),
@@ -114,20 +133,24 @@ export class FreightMeService {
             positionType,
           },
         };
-      }),
+    };
+
+    const enrichedRows = await Promise.all(
+      rows.map(async (row) => ({
+        row,
+        positions: await Promise.all(
+          ((row.positions ?? []) as TokenPosition[]).map(enrichPosition),
+        ),
+      })),
     );
 
-    const employee = employeeRecord
-      ? [
-          {
-            id: employeeRecord.id,
-            organizationId: employeeRecord.organizationId,
-            unitId: employeeRecord.unitId,
-            name: employeeRecord.name,
-            positions: enrichedPositions.map((p) => p.position),
-          },
-        ]
-      : [];
+    const employee = enrichedRows.map(({ row, positions }) => ({
+      id: row.id as string,
+      organizationId: row.organizationId as string,
+      unitId: row.unitId as string,
+      name: row.name,
+      positions: positions.map((p) => p.position),
+    }));
 
     // `collectPermissionKeys` reads the raw token (position-level only), so
     // union the type-level grants in — the backoffice prefers this flat list
@@ -135,7 +158,9 @@ export class FreightMeService {
     const permissionKeys = [
       ...new Set([
         ...collectPermissionKeys(user),
-        ...enrichedPositions.flatMap((p) => p.positionTypePermissionKeys),
+        ...enrichedRows.flatMap(({ positions }) =>
+          positions.flatMap((p) => p.positionTypePermissionKeys),
+        ),
       ]),
     ];
 
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..05dc84b29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import 'reflect-metadata';
+
+import { NotificationType, type NotifyInput } from '@edr/types';
+
+import type { ChatConfig } from '../../config/chat.config';
+import { ChatBridgeService } from './chat-bridge.service';
+import type { MatrixClient } from './matrix.client';
+
+const config: ChatConfig = {
+  enabled: true,
+  baseUrl: 'https://matrix.test',
+  publicBaseUrl: 'https://matrix.test',
+  webUrl: 'https://chat.test',
+  serverName: 'matrix.test',
+  jwtSecret: 'secret',
+  adminToken: 'syt_whatever',
+};
+
+function harness(overrides: Partial<ChatConfig> = {}) {
+  const matrix = {
+    ensureRoom: jest.fn(async (alias: string) => `!${alias}:matrix.test`),
+    sendMessage: jest.fn(
+      async (_roomId: string, _body: string, _html?: string) => undefined,
+    ),
+  };
+  const service = new ChatBridgeService(
+    { ...config, ...overrides },
+    matrix as unknown as MatrixClient,
+  );
+  return { service, matrix };
+}
+
+const notification = (type: NotificationType): NotifyInput =>
+  ({ type, title: 'Booking BK-1', body: 'needs review' }) as unknown as NotifyInput;
+
+describe('ChatBridgeService', () => {
+  it('posts every notification type into #freight-alerts', async () => {
+    // This used to route REQUEST_SUBMITTED and CLEARANCE_REVIEW to a hardcoded
+    // `dept-operation` alias, but the reconcile derives dept aliases from the
+    // IAM position key (`edr_freight_app/opn` shaped), so nothing it created
+    // ever matched. The bridge made its own empty room and posted there, where
+    // no employee was a member.
+    const { service, matrix } = harness();
+
+    for (const type of [
+      NotificationType.REQUEST_SUBMITTED,
+      NotificationType.CLEARANCE_REVIEW,
+      NotificationType.GENERIC,
+    ]) {
+      await service.bridge(notification(type));
+    }
+
+    expect(new Set(matrix.ensureRoom.mock.calls.map(([alias]) => alias))).toEqual(
+      new Set(['freight-alerts']),
+    );
+    expect(matrix.sendMessage).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+  });
+
+  it('does nothing at all when chat is switched off', async () => {
+    const { service, matrix } = harness({ enabled: false });
+
+    await service.bridge(notification(NotificationType.GENERIC));
+
+    expect(matrix.ensureRoom).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(matrix.sendMessage).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('never lets a chat failure escape into the notification that triggered it', async () => {
+    // Same contract as NotificationInboxService.notify(): bridging is
+    // best-effort and must not roll back the caller's transaction.
+    const { service, matrix } = harness();
+    matrix.ensureRoom.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('Matrix POST ... -> 429'));
+
+    await expect(
+      service.bridge(notification(NotificationType.GENERIC)),
+    ).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.ts
index 75bbe9a29..55c98b897 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-bridge.service.ts
@@ -1,28 +1,11 @@
 import { Inject, Injectable, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
 import type { ConfigType } from '@nestjs/config';
-import { NotificationType, type NotifyInput } from '@edr/types';
+import type { NotifyInput } from '@edr/types';
 
 import chatConfig from '../../config/chat.config';
+import { ALERTS_ROOM } from './chat-provisioning.service';
 import { MatrixClient } from './matrix.client';
 
-const FALLBACK_ROOM = { alias: 'freight-alerts', name: 'Freight Alerts' };
-
-/**
- * Best-effort per-type routing to an existing dept room. Anything not listed
- * (including GENERIC) falls through to #freight-alerts — safer than a wrong
- * guess at which department a type belongs to. Extend as real usage shows
- * which types actually want a dept room instead of the shared feed.
- *
- * `name` matters only if this bridge is the very first thing to touch that
- * alias (normally the nightly/on-demand reconcile creates dept rooms first,
- * with the position's real name) — ensureRoom never renames an existing
- * room, so this must match what ChatProvisioningService would have used.
- */
-const ROOM_FOR_TYPE: Partial<Record<NotificationType, { alias: string; name: string }>> = {
-  [NotificationType.REQUEST_SUBMITTED]: { alias: 'dept-operation', name: 'Operation' },
-  [NotificationType.CLEARANCE_REVIEW]: { alias: 'dept-operation', name: 'Operation' },
-};
-
 /**
  * Mirrors BACKOFFICE-audience notifications into chat so staff see them
  * without having the inbox open. Hooked once into
@@ -31,6 +14,15 @@ const ROOM_FOR_TYPE: Partial<Record<NotificationType, { alias: string; name: str
  *
  * Gated on BACKOFFICE only: notify() also serves PORTAL (customer)
  * notifications, which must never land in an internal staff room.
+ *
+ * Everything goes to one room. This used to route REQUEST_SUBMITTED and
+ * CLEARANCE_REVIEW to a hardcoded `dept-operation` alias — but the reconcile
+ * derives dept aliases from the IAM position key, which is `edr_freight_app/opn`
+ * shaped, so `#dept-operation` matched nothing it creates. The bridge quietly
+ * created its own empty room and posted every notification into it, where no
+ * employee was a member. A single room the reconcile actually populates beats
+ * per-type routing that silently misses; add routing back when real usage asks
+ * for it, keyed off the same derivation the reconcile uses.
  */
 @Injectable()
 export class ChatBridgeService {
@@ -46,8 +38,9 @@ export class ChatBridgeService {
     if (!this.config.enabled) return;
 
     try {
-      const room = ROOM_FOR_TYPE[input.type] ?? FALLBACK_ROOM;
-      const roomId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(room.alias, room.name);
+      // get-or-create as a safety net only: the reconcile creates this room
+      // inside the space and joins every position holder to it.
+      const roomId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(ALERTS_ROOM.alias, ALERTS_ROOM.name);
       const body = input.link ? `${input.title}\n${input.body}\n${input.link}` : `${input.title}\n${input.body}`;
       const html = `<strong>${escapeHtml(input.title)}</strong><br/>${escapeHtml(input.body)}${
         input.link ? `<br/><a href="${escapeHtml(input.link)}">${escapeHtml(input.link)}</a>` : ''
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.spec.ts
index 935f03ab4..3b06cc518 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.spec.ts
@@ -5,34 +5,57 @@ import type { DataSource } from 'typeorm';
 import { ChatProvisioningService } from './chat-provisioning.service';
 import type { MatrixClient } from './matrix.client';
 
+const NAA = '03f5eb9e-23a0-4413-8d98-8de4b98b1be2';
+const SUPER_ADMIN = 'f1534714-fa4a-4780-a081-05d4c1f6c25f';
+const BOT = '@edrbot:m.test';
+
+interface Holder {
+  positionKey: string;
+  positionName: string;
+  userId: string;
+  userName: string;
+}
+
+const holder = (
+  userId: string,
+  userName: string,
+  positionKey: string,
+  positionName = positionKey,
+): Holder => ({ positionKey, positionName, userId, userName });
+
+/**
+ * `members` maps a room id to who Matrix currently reports as joined, so a
+ * test can put a leaver in a room and watch what the reconcile does about it.
+ */
+function harness(holders: Holder[], members: Record<string, string[]> = {}) {
+  const matrix = {
+    mxidFor: jest.fn(
+      (userId: string, name: string) => `@${name}.${userId.slice(0, 6)}:m.test`,
+    ),
+    whoami: jest.fn(async () => BOT),
+    ensureUser: jest.fn(async (_mxid: string, _name?: string) => undefined),
+    ensureRoom: jest.fn(
+      async (alias: string, _name?: string, _opts?: unknown) => `!${alias}:m.test`,
+    ),
+    ensureJoined: jest.fn(async (_roomId: string, _mxid: string) => undefined),
+    joinedMembers: jest.fn(async (roomId: string) => members[roomId] ?? [BOT]),
+    kick: jest.fn(async (_roomId: string, _mxid: string, _reason: string) => undefined),
+    lockUser: jest.fn(async (_mxid: string) => undefined),
+  };
+  const dataSource = { query: jest.fn(async () => holders) };
+  const service = new ChatProvisioningService(
+    dataSource as unknown as DataSource,
+    matrix as unknown as MatrixClient,
+  );
+  return { service, matrix, dataSource };
+}
+
 /**
  * `joinUserRooms` is the only thing standing between a first sign-in and an
  * empty Element — the reconcile that would otherwise fill the room list runs
- * nightly. Both branches below are outages that actually happened on dev.
+ * nightly.
  */
 describe('ChatProvisioningService.joinUserRooms', () => {
-  const NAA = '03f5eb9e-23a0-4413-8d98-8de4b98b1be2';
-  const SUPER_ADMIN = 'f1534714-fa4a-4780-a081-05d4c1f6c25f';
-
-  function harness(holders: unknown[]) {
-    const matrix = {
-      mxidFor: jest.fn(
-        (userId: string, name: string) => `@${name}.${userId.slice(0, 6)}:m.test`,
-      ),
-      ensureUser: jest.fn(async (_mxid: string, _name?: string) => undefined),
-      ensureRoom: jest.fn(
-        async (alias: string, _name?: string, _opts?: unknown) => `!${alias}:m.test`,
-      ),
-      ensureJoined: jest.fn(async (_roomId: string, _mxid: string) => undefined),
-    };
-    const dataSource = { query: jest.fn(async () => holders) };
-    const service = new ChatProvisioningService(
-      dataSource as unknown as DataSource,
-      matrix as unknown as MatrixClient,
-    );
-    return { service, matrix };
-  }
-
   it('creates nothing for a user holding no current position', async () => {
     // Super Admin on dev: three iam.employees rows, zero employee_positions.
     // Synapse still auto-registers the account on JWT login, so the only
@@ -46,17 +69,12 @@ describe('ChatProvisioningService.joinUserRooms', () => {
     expect(matrix.ensureJoined).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it('joins a position holder to the space, #general and their dept room', async () => {
+  it('joins a holder to the space, #general, #freight-alerts and their dept room', async () => {
     const { service, matrix } = harness([
-      {
-        positionKey: 'edr_freight_app/marketer',
-        positionName: 'Marketer',
-        userId: NAA,
-        userName: 'naa',
-      },
+      holder(NAA, 'naa', 'edr_freight_app/marketer', 'Marketer'),
     ]);
 
-    await expect(service.joinUserRooms(NAA, 'naa')).resolves.toBe(2);
+    await expect(service.joinUserRooms(NAA, 'naa')).resolves.toBe(4);
 
     // The account has to exist before the admin join API will touch it — JWT
     // auto-registration happens after this runs.
@@ -65,28 +83,112 @@ describe('ChatProvisioningService.joinUserRooms', () => {
     expect(matrix.ensureRoom.mock.calls.map(([alias]) => alias)).toEqual([
       'edr-freight',
       'general',
+      'freight-alerts',
       'dept-edr_freight_app/marketer',
     ]);
 
     // The space itself is joined, not only the rooms under it: Element shows a
     // space in the left rail only to its members, so dropping this scatters
-    // every dept room loose into Home.
+    // every dept room loose into Home. #freight-alerts is joined here too, or
+    // a new hire sees no bridged notification until the nightly reconcile.
     expect(matrix.ensureJoined.mock.calls.map(([roomId]) => roomId)).toEqual([
       '!edr-freight:m.test',
       '!general:m.test',
+      '!freight-alerts:m.test',
       '!dept-edr_freight_app/marketer:m.test',
     ]);
   });
 
   it('scopes the position lookup to the one user', async () => {
-    const { service } = harness([]);
+    const { service, dataSource } = harness([]);
     await service.joinUserRooms(NAA, 'naa');
     // Without the third parameter this would reconcile the whole unit on every
     // click of "Open EDR Chat".
-    const [sql, params] = (service as unknown as {
-      dataSource: { query: jest.Mock };
-    }).dataSource.query.mock.calls[0];
+    const [sql, params] = dataSource.query.mock.calls[0] as unknown as [
+      string,
+      unknown[],
+    ];
     expect(sql).toContain('AND e.user_id = $3');
     expect(params).toEqual(['edr_freight', 'edr_freight_app', NAA]);
   });
 });
+
+describe('ChatProvisioningService.reconcile', () => {
+  it('aborts instead of emptying every room when the holder query returns nothing', async () => {
+    // Zero holders never means "every employee left at once" — it means the
+    // query failed, the org/unit keys drifted, or a migration is mid-flight.
+    // Acting on it would kick every member of every room and lock every
+    // account, which is exactly the outage this guard exists to prevent.
+    const { service, matrix } = harness([]);
+
+    await expect(service.reconcile()).rejects.toThrow(/no current position holders/i);
+
+    expect(matrix.kick).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(matrix.lockUser).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('locks a departed member rather than deactivating them', async () => {
+    const leaver = '@gone.999999:m.test';
+    const { service, matrix } = harness(
+      [holder(NAA, 'naa', 'marketer', 'Marketer')],
+      {
+        '!edr-freight:m.test': [BOT, '@naa.03f5eb:m.test', leaver],
+        '!general:m.test': [BOT, '@naa.03f5eb:m.test', leaver],
+        '!freight-alerts:m.test': [BOT, '@naa.03f5eb:m.test'],
+        '!dept-marketer:m.test': [BOT, '@naa.03f5eb:m.test'],
+      },
+    );
+
+    const result = await service.reconcile();
+
+    expect(matrix.kick.mock.calls.map(([, mxid]) => mxid)).toEqual([leaver, leaver]);
+    // Locking is reversible; deactivation is not, and on a homeserver with no
+    // password login it cannot be undone at all.
+    expect(matrix.lockUser).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(matrix.lockUser).toHaveBeenCalledWith(leaver);
+    expect(result.locked).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it('does not lock someone who only moved between positions', async () => {
+    const naaMxid = '@naa.03f5eb:m.test';
+    // naa holds `marketer` now; the room for their old position still lists them.
+    const { service, matrix } = harness(
+      [
+        holder(NAA, 'naa', 'marketer', 'Marketer'),
+        holder('aaa04914-b7ee-47b3-9c63-4324046a26bd', 'nati', 'opn', 'Operation'),
+      ],
+      { '!dept-opn:m.test': [BOT, naaMxid, '@nati.aaa049:m.test'] },
+    );
+
+    const result = await service.reconcile();
+
+    expect(matrix.kick).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      '!dept-opn:m.test',
+      naaMxid,
+      expect.any(String),
+    );
+    // Kicked from one room, still current elsewhere — their account stays open.
+    expect(matrix.lockUser).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(result.locked).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('refuses to empty a populated room when its desired set is empty', async () => {
+    // Per-room backstop for the paths the unit-level guard above cannot see.
+    const { service, matrix } = harness([holder(NAA, 'naa', 'marketer')], {
+      '!room:m.test': [BOT, '@naa.03f5eb:m.test', '@nati.aaa049:m.test'],
+    });
+
+    const diff = await (
+      service as unknown as {
+        syncMembership: (
+          roomId: string,
+          desired: Set<string>,
+          bot: string,
+        ) => Promise<{ joined: number; kicked: string[] }>;
+      }
+    ).syncMembership('!room:m.test', new Set<string>(), BOT);
+
+    expect(diff).toEqual({ joined: 0, kicked: [] });
+    expect(matrix.kick).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.ts
index 23d05d8e6..102cb071a 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/chat-provisioning.service.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ const UNIT_KEY = 'edr_freight_app';
 const SPACE_ALIAS = 'edr-freight';
 const GENERAL_ALIAS = 'general';
 
+/** Where ChatBridgeService mirrors backoffice notifications. Provisioned here,
+ *  with every position holder in it, so bridged messages land somewhere staff
+ *  actually are — the bridge only ever get-or-creates it as a safety net. */
+export const ALERTS_ROOM = { alias: 'freight-alerts', name: 'Freight Alerts' };
+
 interface PositionHolder {
   positionKey: string;
   positionName: string;
@@ -24,7 +29,8 @@ export interface ReconcileResult {
   rooms: number;
   joined: number;
   kicked: number;
-  deactivated: number;
+  /** Departed accounts locked — reversible. See {@link MatrixClient.lockUser}. */
+  locked: number;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -55,7 +61,7 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
       const result = await this.reconcile();
       this.logger.log(
         `Chat reconcile: ${result.rooms} room(s), ${result.joined} joined, ` +
-          `${result.kicked} kicked, ${result.deactivated} deactivated`,
+          `${result.kicked} kicked, ${result.locked} locked`,
       );
     } catch (err) {
       // Never throws into the scheduler — chat provisioning must not be able
@@ -122,6 +128,14 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
       parentSpaceId: spaceId,
     });
     await this.matrix.ensureJoined(generalRoomId, mxid);
+    // Without this a new hire sees no bridged notification until the nightly
+    // reconcile puts them in the alerts room.
+    const alertsRoomId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(
+      ALERTS_ROOM.alias,
+      ALERTS_ROOM.name,
+      { parentSpaceId: spaceId },
+    );
+    await this.matrix.ensureJoined(alertsRoomId, mxid);
 
     for (const position of positions) {
       const roomId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(
@@ -132,10 +146,10 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
       await this.matrix.ensureJoined(roomId, mxid);
     }
 
-    return positions.length + 1;
+    return positions.length + 3; // space + general + alerts
   }
 
-  /** Force-joins additions, kicks+deactivates users no longer entitled anywhere. */
+  /** Force-joins additions, kicks users no longer entitled to this room. */
   private async syncMembership(
     roomId: string,
     desiredUserIds: Set<string>,
@@ -144,6 +158,19 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
     const current = await this.matrix.joinedMembers(roomId);
     const currentSet = new Set(current.filter((id) => id !== botMxid));
 
+    // An empty desired set against a populated room is not "everyone left" —
+    // it is a query that failed, a key that drifted, or a migration caught
+    // mid-flight. Acting on it would clear the room and then lock every
+    // account that was in it. {@link reconcile} guards the same shape at the
+    // unit level; this is the per-room backstop for the paths it cannot see.
+    if (desiredUserIds.size === 0 && currentSet.size > 0) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `Refusing to empty room ${roomId}: desired membership is empty while ` +
+          `${currentSet.size} member(s) are joined. Left untouched.`,
+      );
+      return { joined: 0, kicked: [] };
+    }
+
     let joined = 0;
     for (const userId of desiredUserIds) {
       if (!currentSet.has(userId)) {
@@ -165,6 +192,17 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
 
   async reconcile(): Promise<ReconcileResult> {
     const holders = await this.currentHolders();
+    // The desired state for the whole unit. Empty means the IAM query failed,
+    // the org/unit keys drifted, or a migration is mid-flight — it never means
+    // every employee left at once. Continuing would kick every member of every
+    // room and lock every account, so refuse the run and keep yesterday's
+    // state, which is wrong at worst by a day.
+    if (holders.length === 0) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Chat reconcile aborted: no current position holders for ${ORG_KEY}/${UNIT_KEY}. ` +
+          'Refusing to read that as "remove everyone".',
+      );
+    }
     const botMxid = await this.matrix.whoami();
 
     const spaceId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(SPACE_ALIAS, 'EDR Freight', {
@@ -173,6 +211,11 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
     const generalRoomId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(GENERAL_ALIAS, 'General', {
       parentSpaceId: spaceId,
     });
+    const alertsRoomId = await this.matrix.ensureRoom(
+      ALERTS_ROOM.alias,
+      ALERTS_ROOM.name,
+      { parentSpaceId: spaceId },
+    );
 
     const allUserIds = new Set(
       holders.map((h) => this.matrix.mxidFor(h.userId, h.userName)),
@@ -189,12 +232,12 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
       await this.matrix.ensureUser(mxid, h.userName);
     }
 
-    let rooms = 2; // space + general
+    let rooms = 3; // space + general + alerts
     let joined = 0;
     let kicked = 0;
     // A user kicked from anything while holding zero current positions
     // anywhere in the unit (allUserIds spans every position) is a full
-    // leaver, not just moved between positions — deactivate their account.
+    // leaver, not just moved between positions — lock their account.
     const kickedUserIds = new Set<string>();
 
     // Space membership follows the org tree exactly like room membership —
@@ -210,6 +253,11 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
     kicked += generalDiff.kicked.length;
     generalDiff.kicked.forEach((uid) => kickedUserIds.add(uid));
 
+    const alertsDiff = await this.syncMembership(alertsRoomId, allUserIds, botMxid);
+    joined += alertsDiff.joined;
+    kicked += alertsDiff.kicked.length;
+    alertsDiff.kicked.forEach((uid) => kickedUserIds.add(uid));
+
     const byPosition = new Map<string, { name: string; userIds: Set<string> }>();
     for (const h of holders) {
       const entry = byPosition.get(h.positionKey) ?? {
@@ -232,19 +280,19 @@ export class ChatProvisioningService {
       diff.kicked.forEach((uid) => kickedUserIds.add(uid));
     }
 
-    let deactivated = 0;
+    let locked = 0;
     for (const userId of kickedUserIds) {
       if (allUserIds.has(userId)) continue; // moved position, still current elsewhere
       try {
-        await this.matrix.deactivateUser(userId);
-        deactivated += 1;
+        await this.matrix.lockUser(userId);
+        locked += 1;
       } catch (err) {
         this.logger.warn(
-          `Failed to deactivate departed user ${userId}: ${(err as Error).message}`,
+          `Failed to lock departed user ${userId}: ${(err as Error).message}`,
         );
       }
     }
 
-    return { rooms, joined, kicked, deactivated };
+    return { rooms, joined, kicked, locked };
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.spec.ts
index 73798bce9..22cf8afd8 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.spec.ts
@@ -121,6 +121,68 @@ describe('MatrixClient.verifyServerAdmin', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('MatrixClient.ensureUser', () => {
+  it('lifts the lock on a returning employee', async () => {
+    // A previous reconcile locked them as a leaver. Force-joining them back
+    // into rooms while they still cannot log in is a silent half-restore.
+    fetchMock
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(
+        response(200, { name: '@naa.03f5eb:matrix.test', locked: true }),
+      )
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(response(200, {}));
+
+    await new MatrixClient(config).ensureUser('@naa.03f5eb:matrix.test', 'naa');
+
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    const [url, init] = fetchMock.mock.calls[1] as [string, { body: string }];
+    expect(String(url)).toContain('/_synapse/admin/v2/users/');
+    expect(JSON.parse(init.body)).toEqual({ locked: false });
+  });
+
+  it('leaves an account that is not locked alone', async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(
+      response(200, { name: '@naa.03f5eb:matrix.test', locked: false }),
+    );
+
+    await new MatrixClient(config).ensureUser('@naa.03f5eb:matrix.test', 'naa');
+
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('MatrixClient rate limiting', () => {
+  it('retries a 429 after the delay Synapse asks for', async () => {
+    // The dev outage: a reconcile is a burst of writes, Synapse throttled an
+    // m.space.child PUT, and one un-retried 429 threw the whole run away.
+    fetchMock
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(response(200, { user_id: '@edrbot:matrix.test' }))
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(
+        response(429, {
+          errcode: 'M_LIMIT_EXCEEDED',
+          error: 'Too Many Requests',
+          retry_after_ms: 1,
+        }),
+      )
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(response(200, { users: [] }));
+
+    const check = await new MatrixClient(config).verifyServerAdmin();
+
+    expect(check.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+  });
+
+  it('gives up rather than hanging on a homeserver that only ever 429s', async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(
+      response(429, { errcode: 'M_LIMIT_EXCEEDED', retry_after_ms: 1 }),
+    );
+
+    const check = await new MatrixClient(config).verifyServerAdmin();
+
+    expect(check.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(check.error).toContain('429');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('MatrixClient.adminCheck', () => {
   it('does not re-hit Synapse on every readiness probe', async () => {
     fetchMock
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.ts
index fdfab052d..4da85b339 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/chat/matrix.client.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ export class MatrixClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
   /** The token is a deploy-time fact and the readiness probe runs every few
    *  seconds, so {@link adminCheck} memoises for this long. */
   private static readonly ADMIN_CHECK_TTL_MS = 5 * 60_000;
+  /** Enough to ride out Synapse's limiter; short enough that a genuinely
+   *  wedged homeserver still fails the run rather than hanging it. */
+  private static readonly MAX_RATE_LIMIT_RETRIES = 5;
   private adminCheckCache?: { at: number; result: AdminCheck };
 
   constructor(
@@ -95,13 +98,43 @@ export class MatrixClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     return this.config.enabled;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Synapse answers a burst of writes with 429 + `retry_after_ms`, and a
+   * reconcile is nothing but a burst of writes — one run creates the space,
+   * #general and a room per position, then force-joins every holder into each.
+   * The first run against dev tripped the limiter on an `m.space.child` PUT,
+   * and because nothing retried, that single 429 threw the whole reconcile
+   * away mid-flight. On the sign-in path ChatSsoService swallows the throw, so
+   * the only visible symptom was an empty Element.
+   *
+   * Honour the delay Synapse asks for rather than guessing at one.
+   */
+  private async fetchWithRetry(
+    url: string,
+    init: Parameters<typeof fetch>[1],
+  ): Promise<Awaited<ReturnType<typeof fetch>>> {
+    for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
+      const res = await fetch(url, init);
+      if (res.status !== 429 || attempt >= MatrixClient.MAX_RATE_LIMIT_RETRIES) {
+        return res;
+      }
+      // Body is discarded either way — this response is being retried.
+      const body = (await res.json().catch(() => ({}))) as {
+        retry_after_ms?: number;
+      };
+      await new Promise((resolve) =>
+        setTimeout(resolve, (Number(body.retry_after_ms) || 1000) + 100),
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
   private async request<T>(
     method: string,
     path: string,
     body?: unknown,
     token: string = this.config.adminToken,
   ): Promise<T> {
-    const res = await fetch(`${this.config.baseUrl}${path}`, {
+    const res = await this.fetchWithRetry(`${this.config.baseUrl}${path}`, {
       method,
       headers: {
         'Content-Type': 'application/json',
@@ -125,7 +158,7 @@ export class MatrixClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     path: string,
     body: unknown,
   ): Promise<T> {
-    const res = await fetch(`${this.config.baseUrl}${path}`, {
+    const res = await this.fetchWithRetry(`${this.config.baseUrl}${path}`, {
       method,
       headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
       body: JSON.stringify(body),
@@ -145,7 +178,7 @@ export class MatrixClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     path: string,
     token?: string,
   ): Promise<T | null> {
-    const res = await fetch(`${this.config.baseUrl}${path}`, {
+    const res = await this.fetchWithRetry(`${this.config.baseUrl}${path}`, {
       method,
       headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token ?? this.config.adminToken}` },
     });
@@ -333,11 +366,18 @@ export class MatrixClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
    * ("User not found") on an account that doesn't exist yet.
    */
   async ensureUser(userId: string, displayName?: string): Promise<void> {
-    const existing = await this.requestOrNull<{ name: string }>(
+    const existing = await this.requestOrNull<{ name: string; locked?: boolean }>(
       'GET',
       `/_synapse/admin/v2/users/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}`,
     );
-    if (existing) return;
+    if (existing) {
+      // A returning employee is still locked from the reconcile that saw them
+      // leave. Force-joining them into rooms while they cannot log in is a
+      // silent half-restore, and this is the one call that already knows the
+      // flag — so undo it here rather than making the caller ask again.
+      if (existing.locked) await this.setLocked(userId, false);
+      return;
+    }
     await this.request(
       'PUT',
       `/_synapse/admin/v2/users/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}`,
@@ -377,12 +417,30 @@ export class MatrixClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     );
   }
 
-  /** Deactivating (rather than just kicking) a leaver's account revokes all their sessions. */
-  deactivateUser(userId: string): Promise<void> {
+  /**
+   * Lock a departed employee out of chat — reversible, unlike deactivation.
+   *
+   * This used to call `/_synapse/admin/v1/deactivate`. That revokes sessions
+   * the same way but cannot be undone in any useful sense on this deployment:
+   * reactivation wants a password, and `password_config.enabled: false` means
+   * there is none to set. Room memberships do not come back either. One bad
+   * reconcile — a half-applied IAM migration, a renamed org key — would have
+   * destroyed every staff account that way, permanently.
+   *
+   * Locking blocks exactly the same access (Synapse rejects the account's
+   * tokens with M_USER_LOCKED and refuses new logins) and is undone with a
+   * single PUT — see {@link ensureUser}, which lifts it automatically when
+   * someone comes back.
+   */
+  lockUser(userId: string): Promise<void> {
+    return this.setLocked(userId, true);
+  }
+
+  private setLocked(userId: string, locked: boolean): Promise<void> {
     return this.request(
-      'POST',
-      `/_synapse/admin/v1/deactivate/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}`,
-      { erase: false },
+      'PUT',
+      `/_synapse/admin/v2/users/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}`,
+      { locked },
     );
   }
 
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/auth/cookies.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/auth/cookies.ts
index 0292f7f38..dd7edc5a4 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/auth/cookies.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/auth/cookies.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { POSITION_COOKIE } from "@/shared/utils/positionCookie";
+
 const DEFAULT_PATH = "/";
 const SEVEN_DAYS_IN_SECONDS = 60 * 60 * 24 * 7;
 
@@ -32,6 +34,8 @@ export const clearSessionCookies = () => {
     AUTH_TOKEN_COOKIE,
     REFRESH_TOKEN_COOKIE,
     AUTH_USER_COOKIE,
+    POSITION_COOKIE,
+    // Pre-rename name, still cleared so a stale value cannot outlive logout.
     "current-position-id",
     "selected-position-id",
   ].forEach(clearCookie);
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/customers/ChangeRequestReview.tsx b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/customers/ChangeRequestReview.tsx
index 7f4cf30ce..88cbc1769 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/customers/ChangeRequestReview.tsx
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/customers/ChangeRequestReview.tsx
@@ -174,6 +174,10 @@ export function DiffRow({
   from: string;
   to: string;
 }) {
+  // No real "before" (field went from unset straight to a value, e.g. the
+  // onboarding wizard's first save) — show the value alone rather than a
+  // fake "— → value" that implies a prior state that never existed.
+  const hadBefore = from !== "—";
   const changed = from !== to;
   return (
     <Stack gap={2}>
@@ -181,24 +185,24 @@ export function DiffRow({
         {label}
       </Text>
       <Group gap={8} wrap="nowrap" align="center">
-        <Text
-          size="sm"
-          c="dimmed"
-          td={changed ? "line-through" : undefined}
-          style={{ wordBreak: "break-word" }}
-        >
-          {from}
-        </Text>
-        {changed && (
-          <>
-            <Text size="sm" c="edr-muted">
-              →
-            </Text>
-            <Text size="sm" fw={600} c="edr-text">
-              {to}
-            </Text>
-          </>
+        {hadBefore && (
+          <Text
+            size="sm"
+            c="dimmed"
+            td={changed ? "line-through" : undefined}
+            style={{ wordBreak: "break-word" }}
+          >
+            {from}
+          </Text>
         )}
+        {hadBefore && changed && (
+          <Text size="sm" c="edr-muted">
+            →
+          </Text>
+        )}
+        <Text size="sm" fw={changed ? 600 : undefined} c={changed ? "edr-text" : "dimmed"}>
+          {to}
+        </Text>
       </Group>
     </Stack>
   );
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/layout/FreightDashboardHeader.tsx b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/layout/FreightDashboardHeader.tsx
index 0144db306..45c2f36f1 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/layout/FreightDashboardHeader.tsx
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/layout/FreightDashboardHeader.tsx
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import { type ReactNode } from "react";
 import { useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";
 
 import DocReviewAlertButton from "@/features/bookingWindows/DocReviewAlertButton";
+import { PositionSelect } from "@/record-management/components/positionSelection";
 import NotificationBellContainer from "@/features/notifications/NotificationBellContainer";
 
 import type { PageMeta } from "./types";
@@ -111,6 +112,10 @@ const FreightDashboardHeader = ({
             renders only during a review phase that still has undecided
             requests, so it never competes for space otherwise. */}
         <Group gap={10} wrap="nowrap" align="center">
+          {/* Staff holding two posts switch desks here. Renders nothing for the
+              single-position majority, so it costs the header no space. */}
+          <PositionSelect />
+
           <DocReviewAlertButton />
 
           <Tooltip label="Language" withArrow openDelay={300}>
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/components/positionSelection.tsx b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/components/positionSelection.tsx
index b014425e5..6e904066a 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/components/positionSelection.tsx
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/components/positionSelection.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ import {
   TooltipTrigger,
 } from "@/shared/common/ui/tooltip";
 import { PositionName } from "../dto/delegation/delegationDto";
+import {
+  getPositionCookie,
+  setPositionCookie,
+} from "@/shared/utils/positionCookie";
 interface BasePosition {
   id: string;
   employeePositionId: string;
@@ -55,7 +59,7 @@ export const PositionSelect = () => {
     ? unFilteredUserDetails.employee.flatMap((emp) => emp?.positions ?? [])
     : [];
   const selectablePositions = allPositions ?? [];
-  const currentPositionCookie = Cookies.get("current-position-id");
+  const currentPositionCookie = getPositionCookie();
   const delegatedPositionCookie = Cookies.get("delegatedPositionId");
   const activePositionId =
     selectedPositionId || currentPositionCookie || delegatedPositionCookie;
@@ -85,15 +89,18 @@ export const PositionSelect = () => {
     // (useAuthUser already self-heals this cookie for the same reason.)
     if (
       currentPosition.employeePositionId &&
-      Cookies.get("current-position-id") !== currentPosition.employeePositionId
+      getPositionCookie() !== currentPosition.employeePositionId
     ) {
-      Cookies.set("current-position-id", currentPosition.employeePositionId);
+      setPositionCookie(currentPosition.employeePositionId);
     }
 
     applyDelegationCookie(currentPosition);
   }, [currentPosition, isLoading, selectedPositionId, setSelectedPositionId]);
 
-  if (isLoading || selectablePositions.length === 0) return null;
+  // Below two desks there is nothing to switch between. This now sits in the
+  // main freight header, so a one-option dropdown would show for every
+  // single-desk staff member.
+  if (isLoading || selectablePositions.length < 2) return null;
 
   const handleChange = (value: string) => {
     const selected = selectablePositions.find((pos) => pos.id === value);
@@ -102,7 +109,7 @@ export const PositionSelect = () => {
     // dropdown's own value is position.id, which the API does not match on.
     setSelectedPositionId(selected?.employeePositionId ?? value);
     if (selected?.employeePositionId) {
-      Cookies.set("current-position-id", selected.employeePositionId);
+      setPositionCookie(selected.employeePositionId);
     }
     applyDelegationCookie(selected);
 
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/signatureAndTeeterService.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/signatureAndTeeterService.ts
index bb9d8b274..cefeb94ef 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/signatureAndTeeterService.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/signatureAndTeeterService.ts
@@ -12,9 +12,11 @@ import {
 } from "@/record-management/dto/userRecords/teetersAndSignatureDto";
 import Cookies from "js-cookie";
 
+import { getPositionCookie } from "@/shared/utils/positionCookie";
+
 export const withHeaders = (passPosId: boolean = false) => {
   const unitId = Cookies.get("unit-id");
-  const positionId = Cookies.get("current-position-id");
+  const positionId = getPositionCookie();
   const projectId = Cookies.get("current-project-id");
   const delegatedPositionId = Cookies.get("delegatedPositionId");
 
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/withHeaders.tsx b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/withHeaders.tsx
index b735ce611..e00325c24 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/withHeaders.tsx
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/record-management/services/api/withHeaders.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import Cookies from "js-cookie";
 
+import { getPositionCookie } from "@/shared/utils/positionCookie";
+
 export const withHeaders = () => {
   const tenantKey = Cookies.get("tenant-key");
   const unitId = Cookies.get("unit-id");
-  const positionId = Cookies.get("current-position-id");
+  const positionId = getPositionCookie();
   const projectId = Cookies.get("current-project-id");
   const delegatedPositionId = Cookies.get("delegatedPositionId");
   const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/hooks/useAuthUser.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/hooks/useAuthUser.ts
index af41dc2b7..bd589d51b 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/hooks/useAuthUser.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/hooks/useAuthUser.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ import {
   persistRememberMePreference,
   setAuthCookies,
 } from "@/shared/utils/authPersistence";
+import {
+  getPositionCookie,
+  setPositionCookie,
+} from "@/shared/utils/positionCookie";
 import { clearComplaintVerification } from "@/complaints/utils/complaintVerificationStorage";
 
 interface LoginPayload {
@@ -46,7 +50,7 @@ export const useAuthUser = () => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { handleError } = useErrorHandler(t);
   const delegatedPositionId = Cookies.get("delegatedPositionId");
-  const currentPositionId = Cookies.get("current-position-id");
+  const currentPositionId = getPositionCookie();
 
   const {
     setUser,
@@ -96,7 +100,7 @@ export const useAuthUser = () => {
         userDetails.employee?.[0]?.positions?.[0]?.employeePositionId;
       if (firstPositionId) {
         setSelectedPositionId(firstPositionId);
-        Cookies.set("current-position-id", firstPositionId, cookieOptions);
+        setPositionCookie(firstPositionId, cookieOptions);
       }
     }
 
@@ -141,7 +145,7 @@ export const useAuthUser = () => {
 
         if (fallbackId) {
           setSelectedPositionId(fallbackId);
-          Cookies.set("current-position-id", fallbackId);
+          setPositionCookie(fallbackId);
         }
       } else if (selectedPositionId) {
         // Self-heal stale cookies that were set to position.id instead of
@@ -157,10 +161,7 @@ export const useAuthUser = () => {
 
           if (matchingPosition?.employeePositionId) {
             setSelectedPositionId(matchingPosition.employeePositionId);
-            Cookies.set(
-              "current-position-id",
-              matchingPosition.employeePositionId,
-            );
+            setPositionCookie(matchingPosition.employeePositionId);
           }
         }
       }
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/faydaAuthSession.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/faydaAuthSession.ts
index 8200f6aba..8dce901b3 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/faydaAuthSession.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/faydaAuthSession.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   getAuthCookieOptions,
   setAuthCookies,
 } from "@/shared/utils/authPersistence";
+import { setPositionCookie } from "@/shared/utils/positionCookie";
 import type { VerifiedCitizen } from "@/complaints/types/complaint.types";
 
 function unwrapApiData<T>(payload: T | { data?: T }): T {
@@ -138,7 +139,7 @@ export async function persistFaydaRegistrationAuth(
     const firstPositionId =
       userDetails.employee?.[0]?.positions?.[0]?.employeePositionId;
     if (firstPositionId) {
-      Cookies.set("current-position-id", firstPositionId, cookieOptions);
+      setPositionCookie(firstPositionId, cookieOptions);
     }
 
     return userDetails;
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/positionCookie.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/positionCookie.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..60c97c6ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/shared/utils/positionCookie.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import Cookies from "js-cookie";
+
+type CookieOptions = NonNullable<Parameters<typeof Cookies.set>[2]>;
+
+/**
+ * Freight's own active-position cookie.
+ *
+ * Smart Office is a separate app on the same IAM and it also writes a cookie
+ * named `current-position-id` — but it stores `position.id` where freight
+ * stores `employeePositionId`. The two are not interchangeable, so on a shared
+ * domain each app's login silently overwrote the other's desk selection and the
+ * loser fell back to `positions[0]`. Freight keeps its own cookie name so both
+ * can hold a selection at once.
+ */
+export const POSITION_COOKIE = "freight-current-position-id";
+
+/**
+ * The pre-rename, shared-with-Smart-Office name. Still read so a session that
+ * is live across the deploy keeps its desk, and cleared on every write so the
+ * colliding cookie does not linger.
+ */
+const LEGACY_POSITION_COOKIE = "current-position-id";
+
+/** The active `employeePositionId`, or undefined when no desk is selected. */
+export const getPositionCookie = (): string | undefined =>
+  Cookies.get(POSITION_COOKIE) ?? Cookies.get(LEGACY_POSITION_COOKIE);
+
+export const setPositionCookie = (
+  value: string,
+  options?: CookieOptions,
+): void => {
+  Cookies.set(POSITION_COOKIE, value, options);
+  Cookies.remove(LEGACY_POSITION_COOKIE);
+};
+
+export const clearPositionCookie = (): void => {
+  Cookies.remove(POSITION_COOKIE);
+  Cookies.remove(LEGACY_POSITION_COOKIE);
+};