HR:ER

Hosted by Hroes

Business

Website RSS feed LinkedIn Instagram YouTube

Episodes

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

HR: ER is the emergency room for business owners, HR professionals and anyone else who is responsible for managing or employing a team of people. Hosted by Hroes founder Elissa Thursfield, with 15 years of first-hand lawyer and consulting experience and software service specialist Oliver Robinson they provide you with a generous dose of insights and practical advice. From hiring nightmares to compliance chaos, the unexpected to the downright disastrous "HR: ER" pulls back the curtain on events that have unfolded in workplaces around the world, the challenges HR professionals face daily the juicy details of HR missteps, legal blunders, and workplace fiascos. Sharing real stories that will make you gasp, laugh, and maybe even nod your head in sympathetic understanding, and bringing in industry experts, seasoned HR professionals, and legal minds alike. So whether you're an HR professional looking to enhance your skills, a business leader aiming to create a resilient workplace, or just wanting to hear workplace drama, this podcast is for you. "HR: ER” is a judgment-free zone where we share stories, offer solutions, and build a community dedicated to improving the world of work. Join Us: Subscribe now to "HR: ER" and send us your questions to HRER@hroes.co.uk to become part of the conversation. Learn how to treat your HR, so your workplace can be disaster-free. If you’re a fan of the show, please leave us a 5-star review kinda thing? https://lovethepodcast.com/hr-er We're one of the top 20 UK HR Podcasts - https://podcasts.feedspot.com/uk_hr_podcasts/

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 20, 202628 min

HR:ER Escalation: The Town Hall That Ended in a Resignation Email

HR:ER Escalation: The Town Hall That Ended in a Resignation Email It starts as an ordinary company town hall. Profits up, salaries down. Then leadership announces they’re training an AI model on company data, along with a list of words staff should stop using in case they “bias” it. By the end there’s a manager confronting leadership in front of his own team, a conduct investigation opened within 40 minutes, and a resignation email that’s written but not sent. Escalations rarely come with a warning. HRoes puts HR software, legal advice and tribunal cover in one place. Protection, not heroics. /

October 6, 202641 min

HR:ER - Escalation - The Employee Who Won't Attend the Meeting

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 without his rep. Twice. What would you do at card one? 👉 A) Open a formal capability process now 👉 B) Start informally and build the paper trail yourself With HRoes, you get HR software, legal expertise, learning and tribunal cover, all under one roof, so you're never stuck between "what's sensible" and "what's defensible.” Book an intro call via our website. #HR #EmployeeRelations #EmploymentLaw #HRPodcast #Leadership /

September 22, 202630 min

Bumping: Redundancy Loophole or Discrimination Risk?

"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 employees can challenge a redundancy they suspect was really about preference, not process. Plus: how to avoid this workplace emergency before it ever reaches a tribunal. 🎧 Listen now - and see how HRoes' unified HR and employment law offering protects you against claims of up to £250k. https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146 #HR #EmploymentLaw #Redundancy #WorkplaceLaw #HRER /

September 8, 202636 min

“It Was Only Curiosity” - Can That Be Homophobic?

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 be homophobic because the comments were only directed at this particular employee. What should the employer actually be doing? Listen to the latest HR:ER to find out. Our Unified Offering brings employment software, legal advice, CPD training and £250k of protection together in one simple solution - so you’re prepared when employment issues arise. https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146? /

August 25, 202633 min

New Contract, Worse Terms

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 Unified Offering, benefit from employment software, HR and employment law advice, training and £250k protection they need to make better employment decisions - before it turns into an expensive tribunal claim. https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146? #EmploymentLaw #HRER #HRPodcast #ContractChanges #FireAndRehire /

August 4, 202626 min

Is Your Remote Employee Working... Somewhere Else?

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 employment law advice, software, manager training, and up to £250,000 of tribunal cover if a claim arises. Book a short demo: https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146/ #HRER #EmploymentLaw #RemoteWorking #ArtificialIntelligence #HRPodcast /

July 21, 202632 min

Tracking Every 15 Minutes… Is This Really Legal?

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 before they arise, while providing tribunal cover that protects your business against claims, compensation, and legal costs up to £250,000 - with zero excess to pay. https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146/ /

July 8, 202629 min

⚽ Is it Coming Home...or Into a Disciplinary?

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? 🗣️ Talking more about football than actually working? Do you think it’s coming home? Let us know in the comments 💬 ⚖️ Find out more about our all-in-one solution, including employment insurance that covers your business for claims, compensation, and legal fees up to £250,000 – with no excess to pay. 👉 https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/jame... #FifaWorldCup #WorldCup #Football #EmploymentLaw #HRER /

June 16, 202628 min

When Ollie Crashed Into Dawn at Work

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" incident quickly escalate into a major HR, legal, or insurance headache? In our latest HR:ER episode, we break down the HR, legal and practical lessons every employer should know from one unexpected car park collision. https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146/ #HR #HumanResources #EmploymentLaw #PeopleManagement #HRPodcast /

June 2, 202632 min

A Welfare Case Turned Operational Crisis

🚨 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 working hours, managing welfare concerns, and balancing business needs with employee rights. With our unified offering, conduct the right checks, resolve issues efficiently, and reduce risk with our lawyer-led employment software, consultancy, and CPD-accredited e-learning. https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/james146/ #HRER #FlexibleWorking #HRPodcast #PeopleManagement #EmploymentLaw /