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.
Episodes
98 episodes
How Small Businesses Can Build an Early Careers Pipeline That Actually Works
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 wi...
How To Keep Morale High And Customers Happy When December Chaos Hits
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...
How To Get Ready For The UK Employment Rights Bill Without Drowning In Admin
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 co...
Autumn Budget 2025: What It Really Means for Small Businesses
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 kn...
Men’s Health at Work: Posters Don’t Fix Burnout
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.Becau...
Quiet Quitting Is Not the Problem. It Is the Warning Light
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 ab...
Practical Ways To Support Menopause And Keep Teams Fair
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 tensi...
How To Keep Clients Without Breaking Employment Law
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 dropp...
From Cake Crumbs To Fair Perks: How To Spend HR Budget Where It Works
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about employee perks and whether they are genuinely helping your team or just papering over bigger problems.Because let’s be honest. A birthday cake, a shiny wellbeing app, or a ...
Why Promoting Your Star Performer Can Backfire And What To Do Instead
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about a trap loads of businesses fall into. Someone is brilliant at their job, so they get promoted. Then everyone watches them slowly drown in rotas, one-to-ones, and awkward conversat...
Flu Jabs: Perk or Pressure?
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about flu-jab season and how something meant to help your team can quietly damage trust if it is handled badly.Because on the surface, it sounds simple. Offer flu jabs, reduce ab...
Inclusion Without the Corporate Cringe
If the word inclusion makes you want to roll your eyes a bit, I get it.For a lot of small businesses, it sounds like code for awkward workshops, forced icebreakers, and someone telling you to “bring your whole self to work” while ...
"Be Reasonable”… But What Does That Actually Mean?
“Be reasonable” sounds lovely, doesn’t it?Until you are the one who has to make the call.Because in real life, “be reasonable” often translates to “just say yes and feel bad if you don’t.”In this episode of Buzzing About...
Payroll Mistakes That Make People Leave (And How to Fix Them Fast)
If you’ve ever said “we’ll fix payroll next month”… this one’s for you.Because payroll isn’t admin. Payroll is trust.And once that trust wobbles, people don’t shout about it. They quietly update their CV.In this episode of ...
You Can't Fire Someone Just Because They Called You a Dickhead
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are looking at one of those moments that catches businesses out all the time. It is Friday afternoon, tempers are up, someone says something they absolutely should not, and the instinct is to sack ...
Dogs at Work: Lovely Idea or Hairy HR Problem?
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about dogs in the workplace. Because yes, office dogs can be brilliant. They can lift morale, get people moving, spark conversations, and make a workplace feel warmer and more human.
A 50% Discount That Cost a Job (And Why the Appeal Failed)
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are looking at a real tribunal case that should make every small business pause for a second.A long-serving shift manager, clean record, no history of issues, dismissed for gross misconduct ...
Employment Rights Bill: What Changes When, and What to Do First
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am tackling the Employment Rights Bill without the drama, because if it has landed in your inbox and made you want to shut the laptop for a bit, I get it.The good news is this. It is not all ...
Taming Rota Chaos
If your phone is pinging nonstop with shift swaps, late changes, and “can someone cover me”, your rota is not a rota. It is a group chat with admin powers. And it will swallow your day.In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we talk ...
Fairness Means Clarity, Feedback, Then Decisions
Hiring can feel like a leap of faith—until the first wobble makes you wonder if you misjudged the fit. We break down how to tell a normal new starter dip from a genuine red flag, and share a calm, practical path that keeps standards high withou...
HR Paperwork That Actually Saves You
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am tackling one of the biggest time drains in small businesses. HR paperwork that looks official, feels important, and then completely lets you down the moment something goes wrong.If your re...
Your First Week Sets The Truth About Your Business And Whether Good People Stay
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we start with a first day that far too many people recognise. No logins. An induction from 2016. A team who did not know someone was starting, let alone their name. And by lunchtime, that new hire is ...
How Small Businesses Can Approve Leave Without Starting A Fight
Ever opened a simple holiday request and felt your stomach tighten?It is just time off. It should be straightforward. But in small businesses, annual leave can turn into one of the biggest sources of tension. School holiday clashes. “I b...
Counteroffers, Pay Pressure and Keeping Your Nerve
In this episode of Buzzing About HR, we are talking about that moment every small business owner dreads. The kettle is on, payroll is tight, and an email lands with a counteroffer attached. July has a habit of doing this. Budgets are alr...
Freelancer or Employee? The Label Will Not Save You
Ever looked at someone on a monthly invoice and thought, “They’re freelance… I think”?This episode is for that moment.In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I get into one of the most common and risky questions small business...