Buzzing About HR

Kate Underwood
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  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

🎙️ Buzzing About HR Straight-talking HR for the people doing payroll, sales and playing workplace therapist before lunch. If you run a UK small business, or you're the HR-of-one trying to keep the wheels on, this podcast is for you.  No corporate jargon.  No "synergy."  Just real answers to the people's problems no one warned you about. Hosted by award-winning HR expert Kate Underwood, each episode tackles the moments small business owners actually face: The employee who's brilliant at the job and causes chaos in the teamThe manager who avoids hard conversations until they turn into a bonfireThe "small issue" grievance that suddenly becomes a formal complaintThe sickness pattern is suspiciously linked to Mondays and paydayThe resignation that makes you think, " What did we miss?" You'll get plain-English UK employment law, practical advice on performance, absence, hiring and retention, and grown-up culture conversations, all usable the same day. No theory. No paperwork museums. No advice that only works in big HR departments with unlimited budgets. This is also a permission slip to lead like a human. Clear standards. Fair boundaries. Decent communication. 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 "people management" quite like a judgmental stare from a Wellbeing Officer who's never written a policy in her life. ☕ Start here: take the FREE HR Health Check and see where your risks and your quick wins are hiding. New episodes every Tuesday.

  1. 3d ago

    Stop Polishing The Poster And Train Gary

    Episode summary: It's National Inclusion Week (14 to 20 September), with Global Workplace Culture Day on Friday 18 September, so Kate makes the case that culture is behaviour, not branding. Five small habits any manager can build this week, then the heart of it: culture is decided in awkward moments, and the person standing in the middle of those moments is almost never HR, it's a line manager who was never trained for it. This is also the launch episode for Cake, Coffee and Compliance, the manager training built for exactly that gap. Key points: Culture is not your values statement or your logo colours. It is the accumulated pattern of what your managers do in small moments on ordinary days.Five habits to build: learn how people want to work, make space for quiet voices, give credit out loud, handle the awkward moment, and follow through on the small things.Small businesses have the advantage. In a team of nine, culture is three people's habits, so it can change in a fortnight.Awkward moments never book themselves in. They happen in corridors at 4.15pm, and your line manager is the one standing there, usually with no training at all.From 30 October the preventative duty on sexual harassment rises to all reasonable steps, with a broader third-party harassment liability alongside it covering any protected characteristic, and it rests on managers noticing and acting in the moment.THE GROWL, our new segment: Hazel, our Wellbeing Officer, says the quiet part out loud about rainbow mugs and Christmas dos, and Kate agrees sideways.LAUNCH: Cake, Coffee and Compliance. Twenty one-hour sessions, Tuesdays at 9.30am, three blocks across the year, evergreen so there's no wrong time to join. Block 1 starts Tuesday 13 October. Every session hands over a real document your managers keep. No exam, and recordings are up within 24 hours. HR Business Partner and HR Excel clients get all twenty in their retainer. Priced per person plus VAT, cheaper the more places you buy, full table in the brochure.The first three sessions are all harassment, on 13, 20 and 27 October, landing before the 30 October deadline.Links: Cake, Coffee and Compliance, the training your managers were supposed to get and never did: kateunderwoodhr.co.uk/managersCall to action: Pick one habit and practise it for a fortnight. Then get your managers a place on Cake, Coffee and Compliance before Block 1 starts on Tuesday 13 October, so the three harassment sessions land before the duty changes on 30 October. If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  2. Sep 15

    If You Cannot Prove It Was Fair You Are Exposed

    Imagine it is March and a letter lands asking you to set out, step by step, why you dismissed someone last autumn. You remember being fair. You remember a meeting. You think there was an email. Now you have to prove it, clearly, six months later. From 1 October, the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims doubles from three months to six across England, Wales and Scotland. That does not make dismissal rules “harder”, but it does double how long you stay exposed and how long your evidence has to survive. We talk through exactly when the new deadline applies, why September events sit under the old clock, and why “durability” is the quiet change small business owners cannot afford to ignore. Then we make it real with three case stories that show what tribunals actually punish: choosing belief over qualified advice, missing steps in a process, and getting caught out on disability and reasonable adjustments. We cover Jones v Pilkington UK Limited and the dangers of covert workplace monitoring and sickness absence suspicion, plus Cunningham v BBC and what “constructive knowledge” means when occupational health advice is sitting in front of you. We also flag time-sensitive consultations, including the draft ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, holiday pay compliance and enforcement, and the consultation on fair, transparent workplace monitoring technologies. You will leave with a simple checklist for cleaner records, better consistency, and fewer nasty surprises months down the line. Subscribe, share with a fellow manager, and leave a review with the one paperwork habit you are changing first. If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. Let’s be honest, culture shifts when people feel safe to speak up. New rules mean you’re legally required to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment. SafeVoice helps you do just that. It’s a simple, confidential way for your team to raise concerns — no faff, no tech headaches. ✔ Builds trust ✔ Meets your legal duty 👉 kateunderwoodhr.co.uk/services/safevoice That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  3. Sep 8

    All Reasonable Steps

    A customer crosses the line, your team freezes, and the shift carries on because nobody is sure what they are allowed to do. That moment is not just awkward, it is risk. From 30 October, UK employers face a higher bar on preventing sexual harassment through “all reasonable steps”, plus a new and wider duty around third-party harassment, covering customers, clients, contractors, suppliers and the public. If you employ people, this matters even if the person causing the harm is not on your payroll. We unpack what the legal change actually asks for, without jargon or scare tactics. We talk through the difference one word makes, what tribunals will probe, and why “reasonable” still depends on the size and shape of your business. You will leave with a clear picture of practical steps that stand up in the real world: a quick harassment risk assessment, a plain-English anti-harassment policy that names third parties, manager training that helps people act in the moment, and a reporting route staff will genuinely trust. We also get into the part leaders often miss: most harassment problems do not start with a dramatic incident. They start small, get brushed off, and escalate when people learn nothing happens here. That is why a speak-up culture is not a nice-to-have, it is the cheapest tribunal insurance you can buy, and the most human way to keep your people safe. We finish with a key update on how reporting sexual harassment can interact with whistleblowing law, and why your response now matters twice over. Subscribe so you do not miss the October changes, share this with a manager who deals with customers, and leave a review if it helps. What is the one situation in your business where you most need a clear line and a safe way to report it? If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 30th October 2026 you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. Let’s be honest, culture shifts when people feel safe to speak up. New rules mean you’re legally required to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment. SafeVoice helps you do just that. It’s a simple, confidential way for your team to raise concerns — no faff, no tech headaches. ✔ Builds trust ✔ Meets your legal duty 👉 kateunderwoodhr.co.uk/services/safevoice That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  4. Sep 1

    September Is When You Make October Easy

    October 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest single month of HR change for small UK employers, but it is only frightening if you leave it until October. I break it down into two separate dates you can actually diarise, so you stop treating it like one giant blob and start doing the sensible, proportionate actions that keep you protected. First, we tackle 1 October: most employment tribunal claim time limits move from three months to six months across England, Wales and Scotland, which makes record-keeping, process notes and documented decisions twice as important. Then we get into the under-the-radar change many businesses will miss: expanded right to work checks under the Border Security Asylum and Immigration Act 2025. This is not just about employees. It can stretch to workers, individual subcontractors, substitutes and even down subcontracting chains, so I share a simple way to map who is doing work in your business’s name and where your gaps are. Then we move to 30 October, the heavy hitter: the duty to prevent sexual harassment rises to taking all reasonable steps, alongside new third-party harassment liability where customers, clients and the public are involved, plus trade union written statement and access updates. I also flag four September consultation deadlines (ACAS disciplinary and grievance code, holiday pay enforcement, tipping code, workplace monitoring tech) and explain why small employers should respond so the rules are not written only for organisations with HR teams. If you want a calm, practical plan, use the September audit I set out, then take the free HR health check at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk slash HR-health-check. Subscribe, share with another business owner, and leave a review so more people can find the support before the dates land. If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. Let’s be honest, culture shifts when people feel safe to speak up. New rules mean you’re legally required to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment. SafeVoice helps you do just that. It’s a simple, confidential way for your team to raise concerns — no faff, no tech headaches. ✔ Builds trust ✔ Meets your legal duty 👉 kateunderwoodhr.co.uk/services/safevoice That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  5. Aug 25

    You Can Get Ahead Of October 2026 And January 2027

    Autumn doesn’t just bring darker mornings, it brings deadlines. With October 2026 and January 2027 lined up back-to-back, UK employment law changes are about to hit in clusters, and we want you calm, clear, and ready rather than scrambling at the last minute. I’m Kate, and with Hazel supervising the nearest sunbeam, I walk you through what’s coming and how to use these quieter late-summer weeks to get properly sorted. We break down the key Employment Rights Act changes: the stronger duty to prevent sexual harassment moving to “all reasonable steps”, the new third-party harassment duty that pulls customer and client behaviour into your responsibilities, and the doubling of tribunal time limits from three months to six. Then we look ahead to January 2027, where unfair dismissal rights kick in after six months, the compensation cap disappears, and fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair. The big takeaway: good process and tidy records are no longer just good practice, they’re protection. We also talk about the practical difference between a one-off HR power hour and ongoing outsourced HR support. If you only buy help during a crisis, you pay the emergency premium again and again. If you build a plan, you spread the cost, keep contracts and handbooks current, and have someone who already knows your business when a problem lands. I share the step-by-step route we use: the free HR Health Check, the Employment Rights Act timeline tool, and how a £150 + VAT power hour can credit back onto a service plan if you move within 30 days. We even squeeze in a timely reminder on bank holiday entitlement and the part-time prorating trap. If you want autumn handled with less stress and fewer surprises, subscribe, share with another business owner, and leave us a review so more employers can find practical HR help when it matters. If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  6. Aug 18

    What Does Uncapped Unfair Dismissal Risk Do To Small Businesses

    A room full of 69 employers, coffee that’s slightly too hot, and one question on my mind: if I could get one thing across before everyone rushes back to work, what would genuinely protect them? The answer is a readiness message for a major UK employment law change that is closer than it looks, especially if you’re hiring right now. From 1 January 2027, the unfair dismissal qualifying period drops from two years to six months, compensation becomes uncapped, and fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair. The part many people miss is the timeline: the law changes in January, but service builds from the day you hire. Anyone joining from 1 July 2026 could qualify immediately when the rules switch, which means your paper trail is already being created in probation meetings, manager chats, and the notes you do or do not write down. We break it into a short, doable list: contracts that are current and signed, a handbook people actually read and follow, a probation process with real check-ins and deliberate decisions, and manager documentation habits built early rather than “reconstructed later”. We also clear up the common myths that stop small businesses acting, and flag more changes coming before January, including steps to prevent sexual harassment, third-party harassment duties, and longer tribunal time limits. If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a fellow employer, and leave us a review so more people can get ahead of the changes while it’s still calm. What’s the first thing you’re going to check: contracts, handbook, probation, or documentation? If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 30th October 2026 you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  7. Aug 11

    Probation Drift Is The Real Office Villain

    Hiring a school leaver in August feels like pure optimism: a bright new starter, a handshake, a start date, and you get back to your week. But there’s a timing detail in UK employment law that can catch employers out, and it starts much earlier than most people think. From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal drops to six months. That means anyone you hire from 1 July 2026 could qualify the moment the law takes effect, even though nothing “changed” on 1 July itself. We keep this practical and calm: what the date really means, what else arrives in January (including the removal of the compensation cap and fire and rehire becoming automatically unfair), and why “protected” doesn’t mean “untouchable”. If someone is not right for the job, you can still act, but you need fair reason, fair process, and good notes. The law isn’t here to punish good employers, it’s here to make sloppy decisions expensive. Then we get into the real pressure point: probation. If you run a standard six-month probation, your decision point can collide with the exact moment protection kicks in, leaving you no breathing space if reviews slip. We talk through how to set probation under six months, diarise review dates from day one, and complete a suitability assessment before the threshold. We also cover the day-one essentials that protect you and your new starter straight away: a written contract, right to work checks, and policies and payroll that reflect day-one rights like statutory sick pay, paternity leave, and unpaid parental leave. If you want to sanity-check your setup, use the free HR health check and see what’s red, amber, and green before January arrives. Subscribe for more practical UK HR advice, share this with a fellow small business owner, and leave us a review with the one HR question you want answered next. If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

  8. Aug 4

    If You Hired Since July, The 2027 Clock Is Already Ticking

    You can feel it in early August: the office is quieter, half the team is away, and you finally get a clear hour to think. That’s exactly when the most dangerous HR deadlines sneak up, because this one looks like a “2027 problem” on paper while the clock actually starts much earlier. We walk through the January 2027 UK employment law changes that reshape ordinary unfair dismissal: the qualifying period drops to six months, the compensation cap is removed, and fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair. The headline is big, but the hidden detail is bigger: anyone with six months’ service on 1 January 2027 qualifies immediately, which means people you hire from 1 July 2026 onwards are already in the window. Nothing changes on 1 July, but your risk exposure starts building from that day because service time is being banked right now. We keep it practical and calm, focused on small business HR habits that actually protect you: contracts that match reality, probation check-ins that happen on time, and notes that show a fair process. We also share simple tools to help you see what’s coming and where you stand, so you can fix the one most exposed thing while the diary is still kind. If you want fewer surprises and more control as employment rights tighten, follow along, share this with a fellow manager, and subscribe so you do not miss the next change. If this helped, leave a review and tell us: who have you hired since July, and is your probation process truly real? If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love. And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter. We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff. You can sign up here  If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week. Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email buzz@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, or follow along on social. Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

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About

🎙️ Buzzing About HR Straight-talking HR for the people doing payroll, sales and playing workplace therapist before lunch. If you run a UK small business, or you're the HR-of-one trying to keep the wheels on, this podcast is for you.  No corporate jargon.  No "synergy."  Just real answers to the people's problems no one warned you about. Hosted by award-winning HR expert Kate Underwood, each episode tackles the moments small business owners actually face: The employee who's brilliant at the job and causes chaos in the teamThe manager who avoids hard conversations until they turn into a bonfireThe "small issue" grievance that suddenly becomes a formal complaintThe sickness pattern is suspiciously linked to Mondays and paydayThe resignation that makes you think, " What did we miss?" You'll get plain-English UK employment law, practical advice on performance, absence, hiring and retention, and grown-up culture conversations, all usable the same day. No theory. No paperwork museums. No advice that only works in big HR departments with unlimited budgets. This is also a permission slip to lead like a human. Clear standards. Fair boundaries. Decent communication. 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 "people management" quite like a judgmental stare from a Wellbeing Officer who's never written a policy in her life. ☕ Start here: take the FREE HR Health Check and see where your risks and your quick wins are hiding. New episodes every Tuesday.

Information

  • Creator
    Kate Underwood
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    93
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Buzzing About HR
  • Show Website
    Buzzing About HR