A new podcast aimed at helping businesses and employees cope with HR challenges in a post-Covid world will launch this week.

HR Unpacked is a collaboration between experts from the University of Salford Business school and HR consultancy firm Peninsula, seeking to discuss and share knowledge around UK labour law, good HR practice, and how it relates to real world experience.

The podcast aims to develop an understanding of how the law affects both employers and employees and will approach topics in an unbiased way from both perspectives. Each episode will be themed around a specific workplace issue. The podcast will be led by Dr Jonathan Lord, Senior Lecturer in HRM from the University of Salford and Kate Palmer, HR Advice and Consultancy Director at Peninsula.

Dr Lord said: “The idea is to provide education around HR and the workplace. We’re not necessarily going to be talking about legal advice and it definitely won’t be dry. I want to see this become more of a practical guide as to how to navigate best practice or guidance – what should you be doing.

“Most employers want to be good employers; knowledge sharing ensures that they have access to best practice. Kate is very well placed to talk about the impact these things are having right now in the workplace.”

The first episode will feature discussion around the return to the office and the impact WFH has had on expectations.

Kate Palmer highlights the fact that: “Lots of people have seen what a good work-life balance looks like over the last couple of years, leading to the so-called ‘Great Resignation’. Workers are looking for a better quality of life. We will be exploring all the issues around that and how to navigate them; for employers we will look at how they can ensure they get the right staff in this new work environment.

Future episodes of HR Unpacked will look at topics such as the ‘gigification’ of work, challenges in the modern workplace, employment tribunals and whether they are effective in resolving disputes, benefits of Workplace Automation and how the history of law has impacted the contemporary world of work.

HR Unpacked will be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms. New episodes will be released every three weeks.