Claim OwnershipBuzzing About HR
Subscribed: 0Played: 3
Subscribe
Š 2025 Buzzing About HR
Description
đď¸ Buzzing About HR
Straight-talking HR for real businesses.
By Kate Underwood HR & Training, this podcast makes people management make sense.
Hosted by award-winning HR expert Kate Underwood, each episode cuts through the jargon to share practical tips, real business stories, and smart ways to handle the people stuff that keeps you up at night.
From tricky conversations to team motivation and staying on the right side of employment law, Kate gives you what you actually need â no fluff, just advice you can use today.
If you run a small business, lead a team, or simply want to make your workplace a little less stressful and a lot more human, this is your weekly caffeine hit of HR wisdom â powered by cake, coffee, and the wisdom of Hazel, our resident Wellbeing Officer.
â Start by seeing where you stand: Complete a FREE HR Health Check for your business.
36Â Episodes
Reverse
Big HR changes are on the way, and weâre turning the noise into a clear plan. Kate breaks down the Employment Rights Bill for UK small employers with plain-English timelines, practical examples, and the exact places to focus so you protect people, manage risk, and avoid lastâminute scrambles. We start with whatâs locked in versus whatâs likely: a six-month unfair dismissal threshold from 1 January 2027, simpler statutory sick pay from April 2026 with day one eligibility and no lower earnings...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am digging into the Autumn Budget 2025 and what it actually means for small businesses. The headlines sound promising, but if you run a business, you know the real story is always in the numbers. This episode helps you understand what is changing, what it means for you, and what you can do next without any panic or guesswork. We talk about the big updates everyone is buzzing about right now and how they might affect wages, costs, hiring, training and the...
The signs show up before the resignation letter lands: cameras off, ideas thin, meetings that end with nothing decided, and work kept tightly to the job description. We call it quiet quitting, but whatâs really happening is a rational response to fuzzy goals, uneven workloads, and stalled growth. I unpack why disengagement is data, not defiance, and share a simple toolkit to turn the trend without cheesy pep talks or another all-hands. We start by naming the three big gaps that drain teamsâc...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am diving into a question that so many businesses quietly worry about. Does offering menopause support genuinely help you keep brilliant people, or does it risk looking like special rules that create tension in the team? It is a tricky one, and today I take you through a grounded, practical way to get it right without drama. We start with the legal bits you actually need to know. Nothing overwhelming, just the parts that protect you and your employees. ...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am diving into one of those moments every HR person and business owner knows too well. A client is pushing for speed, your gut is shouting no, and you are stuck trying to keep the work without dropping your standards. We have all been there. I walk you through a simple way to stay calm, respond confidently and keep things legal without blowing up the relationship. You will hear wording you can use straight away, practical alternatives that take the hea...
A birthday cake, a messy keyboard, and a very pleased office dog set up a sharper question: are your perks pulling their weight or just glossing over deeper problems? We dig into a clear, UKâfocused approach to benefits that actually help people work and live better, starting with the truth that pay must be right before perks can shine. We share a simple framework that keeps teams included and spending tight. Youâll hear why small health wins like flu jabs, eye tests and a real person on the...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, host Kate Underwood tackles a familiar challenge for many businesses: what happens when your best doer becomes your newest manager. You know the story. Someoneâs brilliant at their job, so you promote them⌠then watch them drown in rotas, one-to-ones and tough conversations theyâve never been trained for. Kate walks through a fair, practical way to grow real managers without losing your top talent along the way. She starts with the big tension every busine...
Flu-jab season can help teams or harm trust. We show how to offer voluntary, privacy-first vouchers that cut absence without rota penalties, proof demands, or âus and themâ culture. ⢠why winter absence spikes disrupt rotas ⢠how a voluntary scheme reduces risk ⢠legal and data basics in plain English ⢠minimal data design and deletion dates ⢠inclusive comms for allergy, pregnancy, and faith ⢠manager training to stop shaming and shift nudges ⢠practical fixes for common policy missteps ⢠Q...
Heated words exchanged on a Friday afternoon lead to an instant dismissal that could cost a business thousands in tribunal payments. Why? Because process matters more than the actual language used. Whether you're running a small business or handling HR solo, navigating workplace conduct issues is fraught with legal pitfalls. One poorly handled disciplinary action can spiral into costly tribunal claims, damaged team morale, and reputational harm. The truth is, tribunals don't simply ask "was ...
Office dogs can transform workplace culture when implemented thoughtfully, but require careful planning to avoid potential pitfalls. From boosting morale and facilitating connections between colleagues to serving as recruitment tools, dogs offer numerous benefits that must be balanced against considerations for allergies, safety, and fairness. ⢠Dogs can significantly improve workplace morale and reduce stress levels ⢠Regular dog walks encourage movement and provide healthy reset breaks ⢠D...
A shift manager with a clean record was unfairly dismissed for giving a colleague a 50% staff discount for takeaway food instead of the policy-compliant 20%. The tribunal ruled that the appeal process failed to consider proportionality, treating negligence as deliberate dishonesty and ignoring the employee's long service. ⢠Long-serving shift manager allowed 50% discount on takeaway food when policy only permitted 20% ⢠Business dismissed for gross misconduct after CCTV and till logs confirm...
Feeling overwhelmed by the Employment Rights Bill landing in your inbox? Take a deep breath â you've got time. The latest legal roadmap outlines changes rolling out in stages between 2025 and 2027, not crashing down tomorrow. This episode cuts through the complexity with a clear timeline of what's changing and when. We start with union-related measures at Royal Assent (likely late 2025), moving to the April 2026 changes including day-one rights to paternity leave, sick pay from day one with ...
Have you ever hired someone who invoices monthly, works regular hours, and calls themselves a freelancer? That seemingly straightforward arrangement might be putting your business at serious financial risk. I'm shedding light on the murky world of employment status and why getting it wrong could lead to eye-watering tax bills and tribunal nightmares. Walking through the New Forest with my dog one morning, I received a simple client question about a freelance designer that sparked this vital ...
Hiring should reveal real skill, not who can sprint through a noisy, time-pressured hoop. We take a hard look at neurodiversity in UK workplaces and show how to swap tick-box gestures for simple, lawful changes that raise the bar for everyone. From the Equality Act 2010 to recent tribunal cases, we translate legal duties into day-to-day steps you can use this week without drowning in paperwork. We start by reframing assessment around outcomes. If the role needs problem solving on the phone a...
Have you caught up with the Worker Protection Amendment yet? Since October 2024, all UK employers have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work - and there are no exemptions for small businesses. Whether you're running a boutique design agency, a local shop, or a growing startup, this law applies to you. And as real tribunal cases demonstrate, the financial and reputational costs of getting it wrong can be substantial. From Tesco's ÂŁ45,000 payout to an ÂŁ18,0...
Drowning in maternity paperwork? Feeling like you're juggling flaming spreadsheets while trying to decipher HMRC emails more terrifying than overdraft notifications? You're not alone. Today's episode dives deep into the complex world of UK maternity regulations and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), transforming this often-dreaded HR challenge into a manageable process for small business owners. With approximately 600,000 mothers claiming SMP annually and a shocking 77% experiencing some form of...
Ever hidden a Performance Improvement Plan in your bottom drawer, hoping you'll never need it? You're not alone. Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are often dreaded by managers and employees alike, but this episode transforms them from scary legal documents into practical tools for genuine improvement. We break down exactly why poorly executed PIPs can devastate small businesses, sharing real-world horror stories of expensive tribunal cases that could have been avoided with proper d...
A decade ago, I sat at my Harry Potter desk under the stairs, redundancy papers in one hand and a comforting slice of cake in the other, reluctantly agreeing to "try" consulting for six months. Ten years, countless cups of coffee, and an embarrassing amount of cake later, Kate Underwood HR has evolved from that uncertain beginning into something truly special. This anniversary episode takes you on the journey from corporate burnout to building a business that's transformed dozens of small co...
Every HR professional and small business owner dreads that moment: you've extended a job offer to your perfect candidate, only to discover you need to take it back. Whether it's an unexpected budget freeze, a failed reference check, or a genuine business restructuring, withdrawing job offers presents significant legal risks that can cost your business dearly. This episode breaks down the critical distinction between conditional and unconditional offers that forms the foundation of your legal...
Have you ever wondered if robots are coming for your HR job? After my visit to the HR Technologies UK show at Excel London, I've been buzzing with questions about artificial intelligence in Human Resourcesâand it turns out you have been too. Artificial intelligence is transforming everything from CV screening to performance management, but navigating this brave new world requires both curiosity and caution. Through listener questions, I'm unpacking what works and what doesn't when it comes t...
CommentsÂ
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States