its seems that HR are a long way short of professionalism that you would expect from such a large company
I'm afraid you hit the nail of the head there, but get used to it. Despite many promisses with flashy titles (like "New Horizons") HR had never improved and would take a massive overhaul to provide an acceptable level of service. You have my deepest sympathies when your whole family are being messed about by them, but that's life in NATS. Your only real compensation is that the job is great and eventually you can limit the influence HR have on you life.