HR:ER

Your first management job. The handover note says: "Serious performance problems. Never formally dealt with.” He's been there 20+ years. Welcome to our new series: HR:ER Escalation! Our first episode, "The Employee Who Won't Attend the Meeting", covers four hours of work in three months, AI-generated work, a training course he walked out of after day one, and a PIP meeting he refuses to attend wit...

"We're making his role redundant... but we're not letting him go.” Meet "bumping" - where one role disappears, but instead of dismissing that employee, the business moves them into someone else's role and makes that person redundant instead. On this episode, Elissa breaks down bumping from both sides: the discrimination risks employers face (hello, 9 protected characteristics), and whether employe...

An employee has raised allegations of repeated homophobic comments from their manager, some allegedly witnessed by other managers. They’ve also raised concerns about sexual harassment from a colleague and homophobic abuse from a customer. But instead of investigating properly, a senior manager suggests the comments might have been “innocent curiosity” and questions whether the manager could really...

Can you really just issue a new contract and change the terms? 👀 What happens when a “contract update” actually means losing sick pay, reducing notice, changing holiday rights and removing contractual benefits? And what if the employee refuses to sign? 🎙️ Listen to the full episode to find out what employers should be doing - and how HR can prevent these issues in the first place. With our Unifie...

What would you do if you suspected a remote employee was juggling another job during contracted hours? 📌 They're regularly unavailable. 📌 Their work suddenly looks AI-generated. 📌 Productivity doesn't quite add up. Can you investigate? Can you monitor them? And if they are working another job, can you dismiss them? That's exactly what our Unified Employment Solution delivers, combining expert e...

Would you be comfortable being asked to log everything you do at work in 15-minute intervals, every day? That’s what our HR consultancy tackles in our latest episode! An employee with a strong performance record and no disciplinary issues has been asked to complete detailed activity tracking to improve “visibility” of their workload. Our all-in-one solution is designed to help you prevent claims b...

The World Cup doesn't just divide fans...it can divide the workplace too. On the podcast, we're tackling the biggest workplace football debates, and of course, our silly paddles are back! 🎙️⚽ ⚽ Office sweepstakes - harmless fun or should they be banned? 🍹 Buzzballs at the office World Cup party - yes or no? 👕 Football shirts at work? 🤒 Repeated "post-match" sick days - absence review? 🗣️ Talk...

Don't worry, Dawn survived. But after recording a podcast, Ollie accidentally reversed into the front of her car in the studio car park. It sounds like a simple bump... but what if it wasn't? 🤔 If an accident happens during work hours but off company premises, does HR need to get involved? 🤕 If someone had been injured, how much legal risk could that create for the business? ⚖️ Could a "minor" i...

🚨 A welfare case turned operational crisis. An employee's flexible working request was approved to support caring responsibilities. A welfare meeting followed. The employee was signed off with mental health concerns. Now the business wants to introduce even later shifts, making the agreed arrangement unworkable. In this episode, we explore the legal, practical, and people implications of changing...

"Please disregard the resignation letter… my AI lawyer sent it.” Yes, really. ⚖️ An employee off sick for 6+ months 📂 Multiple grievances + a huge SAR request 🤖 An AI-generated legal letter alleging discrimination & constructive dismissal So: Is the resignation valid? Should AI-generated complaints be taken seriously? Who’s liable when AI gets it wrong? How should HR respond? Tune in to find out...

What happens when two protected characteristics collide? An employee with dyspraxia struggles to consistently use a colleague’s correct pronouns after their gender transition. They say it’s not intentional - it’s their disability. But the risk? A potential discrimination claim. We explore: Mistake or discrimination? Legal risks for employers Reasonable adjustments & support How HR can prevent issu...

HR:ER just read your meanest comments… out loud 🎙️🔥 And honestly? Some of you did NOT hold back 👀 💬 “Has this woman swallowed a HR manual, get a life love” 💬 “You don’t pay my sick pay b*tch” 💬 “I’d focus more on getting your barber into a disciplinary mate” We’re also owning up to our own mistakes. If you’ve ever thought HR gets it wrong… or been on the receiving end of it - this one’s for y...

A father and son clash over politics - and now it’s escalated into tense meetings, team discomfort, and formal grievances. The twist? Their uncle owns the business. In this episode, our HR consultancy answers: • What HR should do first • Do family ties change anything? • Where “free speech” becomes workplace risk • Are political beliefs protected in the UK? Keep conflict out of your workplace - ma...

An employee reports a colleague watching explicit content in the office. She’s uncomfortable. He denies it. IT may hold the answer… but what should HR do first? In this episode, our HR consultancy discusses: What managers should do in the first few hours after an allegation How to run a fair workplace investigation How far employers can go when checking devices and browsing history Whether this be...

Health & safety still sitting on your to-do list? On the podcast, Simon Hayhurst, IOSH Certified and Managing Director of Big Mountain Consultancy, explains why so many SMEs delay action - and why that mindset is risky. We cover: ⚖️ The myth that safety slows growth 💰 Balancing risk with commercial reality 🤝 Why HR & H&S must work together 📉 The true legal, financial & reputational cost when th...

Women aged 40-55 are often at the peak of their careers. They are senior leaders, decision-makers, technical experts, and culture carriers. Yet many are being pushed out or are struggling at work because of their symptoms. If businesses aren’t paying attention, they risk losing experienced talent at the height of their careers - costing the organisation through legal claims and increased recruitme...

Reasonable adjustments sit at the heart of fair work - yet they remain one of the most misunderstood (and litigated) areas of employment law. 🎙️ On the podcast this episode: Chelsea Brooke-Ward, Head of Employment and Employment Barrister at Park Square Barristers, cuts through the confusion and gets practical about what the law actually requires. We cover: 👉 What triggers the duty to make reason...

What do you do when an employee is underperforming, refuses every reasonable adjustment, and cites menopause as the reason? In this episode of HR:ER, our HR consultancy dissects: ✔️ When does “reasonable adjustments” become enough is enough? ✔️ Can you start a PIP without it looking like discrimination? ✔️ Does under two years’ service reduce legal risk - or not at all? ✔️ What menopause symptoms...

Reply-all. 400+ people. Including the CEO. One stressed, sleep-deprived employee on a business trip thought they were replying to spam… They weren’t. Now the CEO wants them fired. Is this gross misconduct… or just a very human mistake? In this episode, our HR consultancy tackle an increasingly common workplace crisis. What safeguards should’ve existed to stop this ever happening? (Hello HR systems...

Think your festive spirit is harmless fun? A tribunal might think differently… 👀 ​Our HR consultancy shares the do’s and don’ts of workplace Christmas behaviour - from homemade mulled wine to karaoke chaos and questionable Secret Santa gifts. Grab your headphones (and maybe your policy handbook). 🎁🎅 Make sure you’re ready when the Christmas fallout hits. Our HR software includes a Disciplinary...

Dave has been nodding off at his desk for up to 90 minutes a day… for years. 😬 His manager knows, but no one’s taken action. So - is it a health issue or a performance issue? Should HR make reasonable adjustments… or start a disciplinary process? And what happens when managers ignore repeated performance problems? 🎧 Listen now - and find out how to wake up your workplace. Handle performance mana...

Two maternity leaves. One restructure. Endless risk. So, what should HR do? Our HR consultancy dives into this workplace emergency. 🤰 What protection do pregnant employees really have? ⚖️ Can you pre-allocate roles before consultation ends? 💰 What’s the true cost - legally and culturally - of getting this wrong? Maternity discrimination can cost £100k+ per case. Build a clear redundancy policy f...

What do you do when a new hire never actually returns to work… but every absence comes with another heartbreaking reason? In this episode of HR:ER, our HR consultancy tackles one of the toughest dilemmas small businesses face: chronic absenteeism with limited legal resources. When does support turn into formal action? How can you verify absences ethically? What protections should employers underst...

Too often, HR gets left out of the room when the big financial and strategic decisions are being made. But what if HR was seen as a growth driver - not just a support function? On this episode of HR:ER, we're joined by Bernard Savage, Director at Size 10½ Boots, to dissect: - Why HR is still sidelined in business planning - How leaders can reframe HR as commercially strategic - How professionals c...

HR leaders are under more pressure than ever: deliver better employee benefits, but do it with tighter budgets. So how do you create benefits packages that actually work - for a hybrid, multigenerational workforce - without overspending? That’s exactly what we unpack in our latest podcast with Dipa Mistry Kandola - CEO at Parallel Employee Benefits, Advisor, Chartered Director, and SaaS scale-up e...