Personnel Today HR Podcast

Ep 5: Antisemitism, temperature and firing HR

This month's episode of the Personnel Today HR Podcast, brought to you by Deel, explores antisemitism in the workplace – how it differs to other forms of discrimination, and what employers can do to tackle it. With the recent hot weather, we also look at calls for the UK to introduce a maximum working temperature, and we reflect on a fintech CEO's decision to eliminate his HR team. Every month, we focus on some of the most significant events of the previous weeks and delve into the implications for HR professionals. Renowned author and business psychologist Professor Binna Kandola, co-founder of Pearn Kandola, joins the team to discuss the experiences of Jewish employees in the UK. How does this form of discrimination manifest itself in workplaces and how what should employers do to address it? We look at a recommendation from the UK's Climate Change Committee on introducing a maximum workplace temperature and the best ways to cope with working during a heatwave. And we look into comments made by the CEO of US fintech company Bolt about "getting rid of HR" because they "create problems that don't exist". Presented by Rob Moss, Jo Faragher and Adam McCulloch Produced and edited by Rob Moss Music: Eternity Bro/Shutterstock

Ep 4: Trade union access, AI agents, Fair Work Agency

This month's episode of the Personnel Today HR Podcast, brought to you by Deel, explores what employers need to do when trade unions come knocking, ahead of new statutory access rights later this year. We also examine the rise of agentic AI, and what the newly established Fair Work Agency means for employers. Every month, we focus on some of the most significant events of the previous weeks and delve into the implications for HR professionals. Employment law trainer and commentator Darren Newman joins the PT team again to discuss trade union access rights and what HR professionals should be doing to prepare for new measures which are scheduled to come into force in October 2026. How will the new regulations affect organisations that already engage with trade unions? And what about employers that have not had to manage trade union relationships before? We look at AI agents and "digital twins" and what they mean for the workplace. And we look at the Fair Work Agency and ask whether the new body will be any more powerful than the four enforcement bodies it replaces. Presented by Rob Moss, Jo Faragher and Adam McCulloch Produced and edited by Rob Moss Music: Eternity Bro/Shutterstock

Ep 3: Antarctic HR, April law changes, neurodiversity

This month’s episode of the Personnel Today HR Podcast, brought to you by Deel [https://www.deel.com/personnel], includes an exclusive interview with the head of HR at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). We also look at the employment law changes coming in April, and what the rise in diagnoses of neurodivergent conditions means for employers. Every month, we focus on some of the most significant events of the previous weeks and delve into the implications for HR professionals and employers. Jo Faragher talks to Mariella Giancola about the challenges of deploying staff to work at BAS research bases in Antarctica, including how they recruit and onboard not just scientists, but a whole range of occupations to spend the whole summer (our winter) “South”. Employment law trainer and commentator Darren Newman joins the PT team again, this time for a whistlestop tour of new employment laws coming into force in April. These include: statutory sick pay from day one, paternity and parental leave, sexual harassment and whistleblowing, trade union recognition and the establishment of the Fair Work Agency. And we discuss the rise of neurodivergent conditions in employment tribunal claims and the challenges for HR in making reasonable adjustments. Presented by Rob Moss, Jo Faragher and Adam McCulloch Produced and edited by Rob Moss Music: Eternity Bro/Shutterstock

Ep 2: Fire and rehire, AI, scrapping the Equality Act

This month's episode of the Personnel Today HR Podcast, brought to you by Deel [https://www.deel.com/personnel], focuses on fire and rehire, how AI could help with AI-generated grievances, and on Reform UK proposals to repeal the Equality Act. Every month, we focus on some of the most significant events of the previous weeks and delve into the implications for HR professionals and employers. The PT team are joined again by Darren Newman, the employment law trainer and commentator, to explore the "restricted variations" that would render any dismissal and re-engagement "automatically unfair", and where exceptions would apply.  We look at whether AI could be part of the answer for how HR handles a burgeoning number of AI-generated grievances, and whether it could do the heavy lifting in workplace investigations. And we examine Suella Braverman's promise to repeal the Equality Act 2010 on "day one" of a Reform UK government. How would that work, when the law comprises more than 50 years of anti-discrimination measures? Presented by Rob Moss, Jo Faragher and Adam McCulloch Produced and edited by Rob Moss Music: Eternity Bro/Shutterstock

Ep 1: Unfair dismissal, deepfakes and The Traitors

The first episode of Personnel Today's new HR Podcast, brought to you by Deel [https://www.deel.com/personnel], focuses on changes to unfair dismissal protection periods and the 'lifting' of the compensation cap, digital sexual harassment and what AI deepfakes mean for the workplace, and what HR can learn from The Traitors. Every month, we focus on some of the most significant events of the previous weeks and delve into the implications for HR professionals and employers. The PT team are joined by employment law expert Darren Newman, who this month examines the Employment Rights Act's passage through Parliament and ministers’ concession on the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims. We discuss the implications of “lifting the cap” on unfair dismissal compensation and how this affects not only high earners, but also modest earners with final salary pensions – particularly in the public sector. The timing of the changes is also explored. We look at the recent controversy around deepfake sexualised images made possible by X's AI generative chatbot Grok, and how HR should handle sexual harassment in the digital space. And we examine potential unconscious bias among contestants in the BBC reality TV series The Traitors, and what HR can learn when gathering evidence for workplace investigations. Presented by Rob Moss, Jo Faragher and Adam McCulloch Produced and edited by Rob Moss Music: Eternity Bro/Shutterstock