The HR Hero

The HR Hero Supporting SME's, Charities and Early Years 1-100 staff with HR, employment law and people management 🦸🏻‍♀️ Book a discovery call today.
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Hi, I'm Kate Bennett

I love business and I love people, which is why I love HR! With a Degree in Business, a Masters in Management and a Level 7 in HR, together with over 20 years working with all types of businesses in the public, private and third sector. I’ve seen and understood what works and more importantly what doesn’t. In all organisations, a great culture, a great business is because of

its people. In every business our people are our biggest asset but also our biggest risk. As an Business Owner you have worked hard to make your business successful. You are now ready to take your company to the next level and need to grow your team to get you there. There is complex employment law to understand and HR practice to implement, which can be overwhelming. You will have a lot of questions and will want to get things right. So if you are:

🤔 Worried about problems with your staff and don’t know how to deal with them

🤔 Unsure what you should or shouldn’t be doing to comply with employment law

🤔 Confused about what you can and can’t do

🤔 Struggling to recruit the right people for your business

🤔 Feeling isolated with no-one to bounce ideas off

Then I’m right behind you. I’ll explain what you can and can’t do, together with the risks to your business. Ways you can work with me:

😊 FREE Resources - join my Facebook Group 'The HR Hero' 🦸🏻‍♀️ for Business Owners. A place where all things people, HR and employment law for your business are explained and made easy

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehrhero

Get a copy of my 5 Essential HR Tips today:

https://www.kbhr.co.uk/pl/2147552392

😊 Online courses: My online HR courses teach you how to implement effective people practices. Together with all the legal documentation you need when employing and managing staff. https://www.kbhr.co.uk/

😊 One to One: Let's talk about your business requirements. From resolving immediate people issues, employment law, management development and business strategy. https://calendly.com/kbhr/15min

ACAS is clear on this one: regular probationary period reviews beat a single meeting at the end, every time. I always te...
03/09/2026

ACAS is clear on this one: regular probationary period reviews beat a single meeting at the end, every time.

I always tell clients that a final probationary period meeting should never contain a surprise, and it never needs to if the groundwork has been done. With unfair dismissal protection reducing from two years to six months, this will matter even more, because employers will have far less time to raise concerns, offer support and make a fair decision before the employee gains the right to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim.

Does your current process build in those regular check-ins, or does it rely on people remembering to have them?

Join our monthly membership for consistent help and support https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/hr-support

I think a lot of employers see the end-of-probationary period meeting as the important bit. It really is not. The conver...
02/09/2026

I think a lot of employers see the end-of-probationary period meeting as the important bit. It really is not.

The conversations you have in months one, two and three matter far more than the one at month six, in my experience. With unfair dismissal protection reducing from two years to six months, those early conversations will matter even more, because by the time you reach the final review the employee may already be close to gaining unfair dismissal rights.

Are you having regular check-ins with new starters, or saving everything for the final review?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for advice and help https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/contact

When a business tells me "we have decided they are not right for the role," my first question is always the same: have y...
01/09/2026

When a business tells me "we have decided they are not right for the role," my first question is always the same: have you actually told them that, clearly, before now?

Probationary periods do not mean an employee has no rights, whatever the situation looks like. Have you got a process in place for those conversations, or does it tend to happen on the fly?

Book an SOS call for personalised help and support https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/sos-call

I get this call more than almost any other: "their probationary period ends Friday, can we just extend it?" Nine times o...
31/08/2026

I get this call more than almost any other: "their probationary period ends Friday, can we just extend it?"

Nine times out of ten, the manager noticed something weeks ago and hoped it would sort itself out. It rarely does on its own.

With unfair dismissal protection reducing from two years to six months, leaving probation decisions until the deadline becomes much riskier, because the employee may gain unfair dismissal rights before you have properly dealt with the concerns. Have you ever found yourself facing a probationary period deadline with no clear plan for what happens next?

Read more on our latest blog https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/post/the-biggest-probation-period-mistake

We are looking for an HR Business Partner to join The HR Hero.When I started this business it was me, a laptop, and a ve...
27/08/2026

We are looking for an HR Business Partner to join The HR Hero.

When I started this business it was me, a laptop, and a very long list of small employers who needed proper HR support and couldn't justify someone in-house.

We've grown. Our clients have grown. I now need another experienced pair of hands.

This is a role for someone who has done the real work. Not writing policies in a corner, but sitting with a business owner who is frightened of getting a disciplinary wrong and walking them through it. Employee relations cases from start to finish. Restructures. TUPE. The conversations most people would rather swerve.

You'd work with charities supporting children, young people and vulnerable adults, alongside private businesses with anything from 1 to 100 staff. Mostly Herefordshire and Worcestershire, some further afield.

20 to 40 hours a week, days and hours flexible, because I know good HR people often have lives that need to fit around the work.

£34,000 to £42,000 FTE depending on experience. Hybrid, with our office in Bromsgrove.

If you're CIPD Level 5 or above, or you've come at HR from an employment law background, and you've got at least five years as a generalist, I'd like to hear from you.

Email [email protected] for the job description.
Applications close on 11 September at 5pm.

Not every holiday problem is about too many requests. Sometimes it's the person who never books a single day off. That's...
27/08/2026

Not every holiday problem is about too many requests.

Sometimes it's the person who never books a single day off.

That's not dedication, it's usually a sign someone's under too much pressure or doesn't feel able to switch off.

Worth a proper check-in rather than letting it slide, and if it doesn't shift, you can require leave to be taken with the right notice.

When did you last look at who on your team hasn't taken any leave this year?

For more HR support sign up for our free weekly newsletter https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/contact

Honest question: do you actually trust your holiday spreadsheet? A lot of the fairness problems I get called in about tr...
26/08/2026

Honest question: do you actually trust your holiday spreadsheet?

A lot of the fairness problems I get called in about trace back to exactly this, a deleted entry, a wrong formula, or a manager approving a request without realising three other people are already off that week.

If nobody can see the full picture, the decisions made on it won't be reliable either. When did you last audit yours?

https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/sos-call

A use-it-or-lose-it approach to statutory holiday is only lawful where the employer has actively enabled the employee to...
25/08/2026

A use-it-or-lose-it approach to statutory holiday is only lawful where the employer has actively enabled the employee to take that leave, by making the entitlement clear, encouraging its use in good time, and not creating practical barriers to booking it.

The Court of Appeal confirmed in Smith v Pimlico Plumbers Ltd (2022) that statutory leave does not automatically expire just because the leave year has ended.

Where entitlement has not been clearly communicated, unused leave can remain a live financial liability.

Read more on this month’s blog https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/post/summer-holiday-resentment-why-is-everyone-off-work-except-me

If you're figuring out how to resolve a holiday clash for the first time while two people are waiting on an answer, you'...
12/08/2026

If you're figuring out how to resolve a holiday clash for the first time while two people are waiting on an answer, you're already too late.

Whatever you decide will look like it was picked to favour one of them, even if it wasn't. Sort the method out now, while there's no pressure and nobody's watching how you decide.

Has your business actually agreed a method, or does it just handle each clash as it comes?

Find out more: https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/resources

A question I get asked a lot: doesn't fairness mean taking everyone's personal circumstances into account? Not quite. Th...
11/08/2026

A question I get asked a lot: doesn't fairness mean taking everyone's personal circumstances into account?

Not quite.

The one exception is a genuine reasonable adjustment, most often for a disability.

Outside of that, personal circumstances shouldn't tip the scales, because the moment they do for one person, you're setting a precedent for everyone else too.

Does your team know where that line sits in your business?
Get in touch: https://www.thehrhero.co.uk/contact

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