Short (50 words)
Kate Underwood is a UK HR consultant and founder of Kate Underwood HR & Training. CIPD-qualified with 10+ years' experience supporting SMEs. Regularly quoted in Daily Express, The Mirror, HR Magazine, GB News and People Management.
For journalists
Kate Underwood — UK HR Expert, Press & Media Kit
Ready-to-use bios, headshots, expert topics, and a direct line. Quotes available on short deadlines for UK employment law, HR and SME workplace stories.
Bios
Three lengths — short for chyrons and contributor lists, long for feature contributor pages. Copy direct.
Medium (150 words)
Kate Underwood is a CIPD-qualified UK HR consultant and the founder of Kate Underwood HR & Training Ltd. With over a decade advising small and mid-sized UK businesses, she works across the full employment lifecycle — recruitment, performance, disciplinary, redundancy, TUPE, settlement agreements and tribunal preparation. Kate is a regular expert source for UK national press and trade media including the Daily Express, The Mirror, HR Magazine, GB News, People Management and Birmingham Mail. She comments on employment law changes, the Employment Rights Bill, sick pay, workplace culture, ageism, and AI's impact on HR. Based in Hampshire; serves clients UK-wide.
Long (400 words)
Kate Underwood is a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)-qualified HR consultant and the founder of Kate Underwood HR & Training Ltd, a UK consultancy supporting small and mid-sized businesses across Hampshire, Dorset and the wider UK. With over ten years' practical HR experience, Kate works hands-on with business owners on the full employment lifecycle: recruitment, contracts, performance management, disciplinary procedures, grievances, redundancy, TUPE transfers, settlement agreements, and employment tribunal preparation. She is the host of the Buzzing About HR podcast and the author of the People Plan on a Page methodology used by SME owners to map their workforce strategy. As a press source, Kate is regularly quoted in UK national newspapers and trade publications including the Daily Express, The Mirror, Daily Mail, The Guardian, HR Magazine, People Management, GB News, Metro, Birmingham Mail and Wales Online. Her commentary covers the Employment Rights Bill, statutory sick pay (SSP), national insurance and minimum wage changes, the realities of redundancy for UK SMEs, workplace culture, ageism, menopause at work, and the impact of AI on hiring and dismissal decisions. Kate writes practical, plain-English HR commentary aimed at owners of UK businesses with between 5 and 250 employees. She is available for quotes on short deadlines — both planned coverage and reactive news cycles. Based in Totton, Southampton; serves clients UK-wide.
Headshots
Click any image to download the full-resolution file. Square, wide, and portrait crops available — right-click → "Save image as…" if your browser opens rather than downloads.
Need a different aspect ratio, higher resolution, or shot variations? Email press@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk — usually back to you the same working day.
Topics Kate can talk to
These are the areas Kate is best placed to comment on — all available at short notice for reactive news cycles.
Sick pay & SSP
Statutory and occupational schemes, 2026/27 rates, day-one rights
Redundancy
Process, selection, enhanced packages, voluntary vs compulsory
Disciplinary procedures
Gross misconduct, hearings, appeals, PIPs
Settlement agreements
Negotiation, fair amounts, what to sign
Employment Rights Bill
Day-one rights, ERA implementation timeline
Workplace culture
Engagement, retention, manager training, hybrid working
Ageism at work
Discrimination, neurodiversity, intergenerational teams
AI in HR
AI-assisted hiring, AI-generated grievances, dismissal decisions
Mental health at work
Stress, burnout, sickness absence, EAPs
Menopause at work
Policy, support, legal framework
TUPE transfers
Process, redundancy implications, employee rights
Employment tribunals
Process, costs, time limits, settlement vs trial
Recent representative coverage
A sample of recent quotes — see the full press archive for everything.
- ONS labour market data: 'Employers putting in place measures to retain staff'
Newspage · 12 November 2025
- Amazon Web Services outage 'exposes critical flaw' in business continuity
Newspage · 20 October 2025
- Pizza Hut 'stuck in the middle' as UK dine-in arm collapses
Newspage · 20 October 2025
- Small firms hire virtual staff to combat hike in National Insurance
Newspage · 12 August 2025
- JLR cuts hundreds of UK jobs: Lessons in handling voluntary redundancies
People Management · 18 July 2025
- Lloyds, Halifax Outage: What Businesses Should Do
Newspage · 28 February 2025
- Labour's 'working people' spin shows just how out of touch they are
Daily Express · 28 October 2024
- Unemployment rate falls to 4% - but claims for DWP benefits rise
Newspage · 15 October 2024
Book a call with Kate
Need Kate live or by phone in the next 24 hours? Grab a slot directly — or email press@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk for tight deadlines outside calendar hours.
Form not loading? Email press@kateunderwoodhr.co.uk or call +44 2382 025160 — or open the booking form directly at forms.kateunderwoodhr.co.uk/discovery-call.
Quick press contact
For deadline-driven requests, use the email or phone below — Kate handles press enquiries personally.