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Description
đď¸ Buzzing About HR
Straight-talking HR for real businesses (the kind where you are doing payroll, sales, and playing therapist before lunch).
From Kate Underwood HR & Training, this podcast makes the people stuff make sense, without the corporate jargon and âsynergyâ nonsense.
Hosted by award-winning HR expert Kate Underwood, each episode is designed for real life. You know, the moments nobody prepares you for:
- The employee who is brilliant at the job but chaos in the team
- The manager who avoids tough conversations until it turns into a bin fire
- The âitâs only a small issueâ grievance that suddenly becomes a formal complaint
- The sickness pattern that is suspiciously linked to Mondays and payday
- The resignation that makes you think, âWait⌠what did we miss?â
This is practical HR for small businesses and busy leaders. We talk performance, absence, hiring, retention, culture, motivation, and how to stay on the right side of UK employment law without turning your business into a paperwork museum. Expect straight answers, real examples, and steps you can actually use the same day, not theory that only works in perfect-world HR departments with unlimited budgets.
Itâs also a permission slip to lead like a human. Clear standards, fair boundaries, decent communication, and less drama. The goal is a calmer workplace, fewer sleepless nights, and a team that actually wants to stick around.
And yes, Hazel the office dog pops up too, because nothing says âpeople managementâ like a judgemental stare from a Wellbeing Officer who has never written a policy in her life.
â Start here: Take the FREE HR Health Check and see where your risks (and quick wins) are hiding.
46Â Episodes
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Your inbox says âquick chat,â and suddenly January feels like a wave you didnât see coming. In this episode, Kate unpacks why resignations spike at the start of the year, how to tell the difference between a normal January wobble and a genuine culture problem, and what small businesses can do in the next two weeks to steady things without launching a huge programme or making promises you cannot keep. We start with the human truth. Clarity follows a break. People come back after time off, the ...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are doing a proper year end reset for small business owners and managers. Not the polished ânew year new youâ stuff. The real kind. Because year end rarely feels neat when you run a small business. One person goes off sick, someone resigns with no warning, and the policies you meant to sort in March are still sitting there quietly judging you. By the time you hit late December, it is easy to feel like you have dropped the ball. This episode is here to r...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we drop into that familiar end of year moment. It is the 23rd of December. The calendar has slid onto the floor, budget papers are wedged under a mug, and the to do list looks like it is multiplying when you are not looking. If December chaos has a habit of following you into January, this episode is designed to stop that happening. This is a calm, practical reset to help you step into 2026 feeling organised rather than already behind. Over a brisk, biscu...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we turn down the noise and focus on what really matters. The UK Employment Rights Bill is full of big headlines and bigger opinions, but small businesses need something much simpler. Clear decisions, clear steps, and no late nights trying to decode legislation. This episode is about cutting through the chaos and translating recent rule changes into something you can actually use. Not theory. Not political noise. Just what applies to you, what is already ...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I want to talk about something that is getting lost in the headlines. Hiring might be slowing down, confidence might be wobbling, but small businesses can still build a really solid early careers pipeline without spending a fortune or exhausting their teams. This one is for anyone who has noticed fewer decent applicants, people disappearing halfway through the process, or managers saying they simply do not have the time or headspace to train someone new. I...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we step straight into the festive chaos that hits every small business in December. Hazel is asleep under a pile of Christmas lights, the inbox is bursting with last minute shifts and mystery calendar blocks, and everyone is only one rota change away from losing the plot. If December normally feels like a burnout buffet mixed with fairy lights, this episode is your life raft. I take you through the real reasons things go wrong at this time of year and how...
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 moustaches are fun, but posters donât cover shifts. We take a straight look at menâs health at work and how small teams can spot trouble early, protect time for care, and avoid expensive firefighting. From missed safety steps to hero shifts that end in burnout, we walk through the subtle signals leaders often miss and show how a few plain rules can turn chaos into calm. We share three vivid workplace snapshots: the appointment that never happens until itâs urgent, the calm supervisor who...
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 ...
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are tackling one of the biggest time drains in small businesses. HR paperwork that looks official, feels heavy, and completely fails you the moment something goes wrong. If your records live across policies, screenshots, folders and WhatsApp messages, this one is for you. This episode is about getting you out of the paperwork snowstorm and into something far simpler. Records that are short, signed, dated and easy to find. The kind that protect your peo...
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