Buzzing About HR
🎙️ 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 team
- The manager who avoids hard conversations until they turn into a bonfire
- The "small issue" grievance that suddenly becomes a formal complaint
- The sickness pattern is suspiciously linked to Mondays and payday
- The 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.
Buzzing About HR
Latest Episodes
The Spreadsheet On Sharon’s Old Computer Strikes Again
Someone hands in their notice, sends a polite email, and casually mentions they have 11 days of holiday left. You open your tracker and realise your “system” is a spreadsheet on someone else’s computer, a trail of emails, and a few approvals bu...
Managing Workplace Heat Safely Without A Legal Temperature Limit
Your kitchen wall says 29 degrees, the Met Office alert pings, and you can feel the mood change at work. Someone goes quiet because they feel rough. Someone else rewrites your dress code with shorts and flip-flops. And at least one person is wa...
A WhatsApp Passport Photo Can Cost You £60,000
That casual “looks fine to me” moment during hiring can become a £60,000 problem long after the person has settled in. We walk through how UK right to work checks actually work in practice, why the Home Office issues civil penalty notices to or...
Hire For Skills Not CVs
You've got a vacancy.You've written the job ad. The same job ad you wrote in 2019, with two new bullet points bolted on the front and one removed from the bottom.Five years' experience required. Degree preferred. Industry knowledg...
*Special* What To Do After An Are You OK Chat
You've been noticing. For about three weeks now.She's quieter than usual. Missing a couple of mornings. Apologising for things she hasn't done wrong. Saying "I'm fine" before anyone's actually asked.You've thought about saying som...
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