In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we land right in that familiar end-of-year mess. It is the 23rd of December. The calendar is on the floor, budget papers are trapped under a mug, and the to-do list looks like it is breeding.

If December chaos has a habit of following you straight into January, this episode is here to stop that from happening.

This is a calm, practical reset to help you step into 2026 feeling a bit more organised and a lot less behind. Over a brisk, biscuit-fuelled hour, I talk through the people practices that genuinely helped small teams stay steady in 2025. Things like better onboarding, fairer pay decisions, and training that leaves a proper trail of proof instead of just good intentions.

We also tackle the Employment Rights Act in human language. What is already live? What is coming next, and what does that actually mean for your business day to day? I turn the legal stuff into practical actions you can take now, like clearer offer letters, simpler day one information, manager scripts that explain tricky topics without causing a mutiny, and short, sensible training that people might actually remember.

If January usually starts with firefighting, I also share five specific moves to steady things quickly. Short diary slots to tidy your handbook, sweep payroll, and brief managers. A one-page people list with pay rates, start dates, and probation milestones. A basic onboarding starter pack. And a simple way to redesign the role with the highest churn so your next hire has a better chance of staying.

We also cover the questions that always pop up at this time of year. What to update now and what can wait. How to prove training without making it a drama. What really applies to tiny teams. Why apprenticeships still make sense. And how to explain frozen tax thresholds in a way that normal human beings can actually follow.

If you want to start the year with less chaos and a bit more control, this episode is for you.

Subscribe, share it with another owner who needs a calmer January, and tell me which of the five moves you are going to do 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. 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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am cutting through the noise around the UK Employment Rights Bill and focusing on what actually matters for small businesses.

Because let’s be honest, there has been plenty of commentary, plenty of opinion, and plenty of people making it sound like the sky is falling. What most small business owners actually need is something much simpler. Clear decisions. Clear priorities. And a sense of what needs doing now, what can wait, and what is just noise.

So that is what this episode is about.

I walk through the employment law changes that should already be quietly working in the background, including flexible working from day one, carers leave, extended redundancy protection, tips and service charge rules, the duty to prevent sexual harassment, and neonatal care leave. I explain what these mean in practice, what managers actually need to say and do, and where small businesses often get caught out without realising.

Then we look ahead to what is coming next in 2026 and 2027. Changes to Statutory Sick Pay, predictable working requests, reforms to zero-hours and casual work, and a tougher approach to fire and rehire. We also get into the one that is making a lot of businesses sit up straighter. Unfair dismissal rights are dropping to six months.

I talk about what that really changes day to day, without panic and without overcomplicating it.

We also cover what is not happening, despite some of the headlines, and why sensible workplace boundaries still matter even when the law does not spell every single thing out for you.

By the end of this episode, you will have a much clearer sense of what to tighten up now, what to plan for next, and how to keep your business compliant without turning your weekends into one long HR admin session.

If you want to get ahead calmly and confidently, this episode will help you do exactly that.

Subscribe, share it with another owner-manager, and leave a review telling me which policy you know needs attention 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. 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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am talking about something that is getting lost in the headlines. Hiring might be slower, confidence might be wobbling, but small businesses can still build a strong early careers pipeline without spending a fortune or burning everyone out in the process.

This one is for anyone who has noticed fewer decent applicants, candidates disappearing halfway through recruitment, or managers saying they simply do not have the time or headspace to train someone new.

I talk honestly about why higher unemployment does not magically solve your hiring problems, and why transport, shift patterns, confidence, and basic skills still get in the way for a lot of perfectly capable people.

Then we look at how to take the panic out of early-career hiring and turn it into something calmer and more repeatable. I walk through how to design one starter-friendly role that actually adds value in the first few weeks, how to write a clear job advert that separates must-haves from trainables, and why a short work task often tells you far more than a polished interview ever will.

We also get into mentoring, because that is where a lot of businesses either make this work or quietly sabotage it. I share how experienced team members, including people nearing retirement, can pass on knowledge without carrying the full workload, and why pairing that with a buddy for day-to-day questions makes a huge difference.

I also talk through a simple 90-day plan that helps people settle, build confidence, and show what they can do, without leaving managers in constant firefighting mode.

And yes, we cover inclusion too. Flexible interview times, written instructions, protected learning time, and small adjustments that help people start well and stay.

If you are fed up with churn, tired of chasing “ready-made” candidates who still need retraining, and want a steadier way to grow talent, this episode is for you.

Subscribe, share it with a manager who needs a calmer hiring plan, and leave a review telling me one thing you are going to try differently.

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we step straight into the festive chaos that hits every small business in December. Hazel is under a pile of Christmas lights, the inbox is bursting with last-minute shift changes, and everyone is one rota wobble away from losing the plot.

If December usually feels like fairy lights wrapped around a burnout buffet, this episode is for you.

I talk through the real reasons things go wrong at this time of year and how to spot the pressure points before they blow up. The last-minute leave requests. The people who are technically off but still somehow replying to emails. The one person with all the logins who has vanished. Suppliers are quietly shutting early. Payroll deadlines are creeping later and later. And the slow build-up of pressure that makes good people snap or shut down.

More importantly, I walk you through what to do about it.

This is not about creating the perfect festive workplace. It is about putting a few sensible things in place now so your team can actually switch off, your customers are looked after, and the same three reliable people are not carrying the whole business on their backs.

We also cover the grey areas that always seem to pop up in December. Holiday clashes. Sickness during leave. Bank holiday rules. Remote working tensions. And how to keep trust steady when everyone is tired and running on mince pies and adrenaline.

You will come away with a short, practical list of what to fix this week so your team, your service, and your sanity all make it into January in one piece.

And if December is already wobbling, book a discovery call, and we will map one quick win for the week, so you are not trying to sort it all alone.

Subscribe, share it with a manager who needs a calmer December, and let me know which fix you are going to try 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. 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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am tackling the Employment Rights Bill and turning all the noise into something much more useful. A plan.

Because if you are a small business owner or the poor soul holding HR together with coffee and spreadsheets, you do not need another dramatic headline. You need to know what is actually changing, when it is likely to land, and what is worth doing now, so you are not scrambling later.

We start with what looks locked in and what is still developing. That includes the likely six-month unfair dismissal threshold from 1 January 2027, day-one Statutory Sick Pay from April 2026 with no lower earnings limit, and the new predictable hours rules that will matter if your rotas and contracts do not match real life.

We also talk about the possible removal of the cap on ordinary unfair dismissal compensation and why that matters most if you employ higher earners or have managers who still think “gut feel” counts as a fair process.

Then we get into the practical side. What these changes mean for probation, SSP wording, rotas, contracted versus worked hours, and why basic forecasting is about to become much more important if you want to avoid cost, conflict, and chaos.

We also touch on union duties, but without making it sound like you need a full employee relations department. I talk through a simple, neutral approach that keeps things compliant and low effort.

And because I know everyone wants the “just tell me what to do” bit, I finish with five things you can actually do this week. Straightforward changes that make a real difference now and save you pain later.

If the Employment Rights Bill has been sitting in your brain as one big scary blob, this episode is here to break it down into manageable pieces.

Subscribe, share it with another business owner or HR lead, and leave a review if it helps. And if you need a sanity check on your contracts, policies, or people process, send us a message before the dates hit, and the panic starts.

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am digging into the Autumn Budget 2025 and what it actually means for small businesses.

Because the headlines always sound shiny. Promising. Reassuring, even. But if you run a business, you know the real story is never in the headline. It is in the numbers, the knock-on effect, and the quiet little changes that suddenly make life more expensive.

This episode is about cutting through that noise.

I talk through the updates people are buzzing about and what they could mean for your wages bill, staffing costs, hiring plans, training spend, and the way you think about the year ahead. Yes, there are challenges. But there are also opportunities if you know where to look and you are not making decisions in a blind panic.

The aim here is simple. Plain English. No waffle. No government-speak. Just a grounded look at what is changing and what deserves your attention.

I also share practical next steps you can take straight away. The kind that helps you protect your people, your margins, and your culture without overcomplicating everything or sending yourself into a spreadsheet spiral.

If you want the full breakdown, this episode will help you make decisions with confidence, not fear.

Subscribe, share it with another small business owner, and leave a quick review so more people can find useful support that actually helps.

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about men’s health at work and why a few posters in November are not enough if the culture still punishes people for slowing down, switching off, or going to an appointment.

Because this is what I see all the time. The appointment that keeps getting pushed back until it becomes urgent. The calm, capable supervisor who suddenly starts snapping because they are overloaded and running on fumes. The reliable driver or engineer who says yes to everything until something gives.

This episode is about spotting those warning signs earlier and doing something useful before they turn into sickness absence, burnout, or a much bigger problem.

We talk through the small, practical things that make a real difference in small teams. A simple health time policy that people can actually find. Proper cover planning so appointments do not feel like a burden. Manager check-ins that focus on workload and pressure, not trying to play doctor. Caps on hero hours. And clear praise for switching off instead of glorifying people who run themselves into the ground.

We also get into something that trips a lot of workplaces up. Banter. Because sometimes what looks like joking is actually masking stress, exhaustion, or someone not wanting to admit they are struggling. I talk about how to move from banter-as-deflection to kinder, shorter, more useful conversations that do not make people feel exposed.

And yes, we cover the privacy piece too. You do not need everyone’s medical history. You do need enough clarity to manage workload, time, and risk properly. We talk about what is fair to ask, when evidence is reasonable in safety-critical roles, and how to keep things confidential without becoming vague or avoidant.

You will also come away with a simple weekly playbook. Protected appointment time. A short manager huddle. Better rota habits. A quiet space for real breaks. Small changes that make it easier for people to ask early instead of disappearing later.

If you want less firefighting, steadier teams, and a healthier way of working that actually functions in a small business, this episode is for you.

Subscribe, share it with a manager who needs a nudge, and leave a review so more small businesses can find practical H

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about quiet quitting. Or more accurately, what is usually sitting underneath it.

Because by the time someone is keeping their camera off, doing the bare minimum, and giving you absolutely nothing in meetings, something has already gone wrong. Quiet quitting is rarely laziness. More often, it is a very rational response to fuzzy goals, uneven workloads, and the feeling that extra effort changes absolutely nothing.

So this episode is about reading disengagement for what it really is. Information.

We start with the three things that drain teams fastest. Clarity, fairness, and growth. When people do not know what matters, feel like the workload is lopsided, or cannot see how they move forward, they stop stretching. Not dramatically. Quietly.

I talk about how this shows up in real businesses. Shops. Salons. Agencies. Field teams. The “reliable” person who quietly absorbs more and more until resentment kicks in. Slack chats full of noise but no decisions. Pizza and perks are being used to patch over rotas that change every five minutes.

Then we get practical. I share some quick tests you can run straight away. A calendar check to spot meetings that achieve nothing. A chat health check to work out whether your team is actually communicating or just narrating their day. A customer lens that helps you see whether the issue is people or a broken process.

We also look at a simple weekly rhythm that helps re-engage people without forcing fake enthusiasm. A short pulse. Better one-to-ones. A proper Friday wins round-up that notices real work, not just the loudest person in the room.

And yes, we tackle the harder questions too. How to tell the difference between a disengaged person and a broken system. How to stop high performers from carrying everyone else. And what to do when the bare minimum is dragging the team down.

If you are tired of gimmicks, posters, and trying to fix morale with snacks, this one is for you.

Subscribe, share it with a manager who needs a reset, and leave a review so more small businesses can stop guessing and start fixing what is actually causing the drift.

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

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. I explain how the Equality Act 2010 links menopause to sex, age and disability, why harassment risk is real if conversations are handled badly, and how health and safety, data protection and the new day one flexible working rights all fit into the picture.

Then I bring it right back to real life. The whole thing becomes easier when managers understand this simple idea. Reasonable adjustments are available to anyone with a health or life stage need. Menopause is not a special category, it is just one example. Once you take that heat out of it, fairness stops being a worry.

I walk you through a quick and memorable manager briefing that gives them the confidence to handle these conversations kindly and consistently. You will hear supportive scripts, a simple review rhythm and privacy habits that build trust instead of gossip.

Then we get into the practical examples that actually work.
In office roles, that might mean cooler desks, a short mid morning breather or small deadline tweaks that stop errors creeping in.
In warehouses and production, it is breathable base layers under PPE, water access that moves with the job, rest points that are actually usable and smarter shift swaps that keep people steady.
I also share universal fixes like better ventilation, sensible fabrics and shared water points. These small changes help everyone and stop the whole why her and not me issue from even starting.

You will leave this episode with clear answers to the fairness questions managers always bring up, a simple way to test flexible working without committing forever and kind return to work conversations that record only what is needed. No heavy dashboards, no drama, just grown-up decisions that prevent bigger problems down the line.

If this episode hit

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

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 heat out of the situation and how to protect yourself long before these requests even land in your inbox.

We start with the basics. What the Equality Act 2010 really means when you are under pressure. Why neutral rules can still land you in trouble. And why a client saying they want a certain type of person is never going to stand up in recruitment.

Then we get into the messy real world stuff.

No headscarves on reception? Offer a fair, branded dress code.

Requests for unpaid trial days? Keep it legal with a short paid trial or a simple skills task.

Feedback like not the right vibe? Bring it back to skills and behaviours.

Night time demands for instant replies? Set up a paid on call rota or promise a next day response.

Need checks done quickly? Use digital verification with a conditional start.

None of this is about being awkward. It is about being fair, protecting your business and showing your standards through your actions. It matters even more during Black History Month when people are watching what organisations actually do.

Fairness will not slow you down. It reduces risk, builds trust and makes hiring cleaner and easier. Hold your line, offer options where you can and only walk away if you have to.

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 [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.