Managing people
Resilient, Not Relentless
What a room of women leaders, Professor Jackie Ford and Dr Julia Morgan taught me about how we lead — from the first Resilient, Not Relentless evening in Harrogate.
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Chartered HR & Leadership Consultancy · Leeds
When a business grows faster than its HR, it catches up with you later — usually at the worst possible moment.
I'm Nichola Morgan, a Chartered HR consultant and leadership development specialist working with SME owners and directors across Yorkshire and the North East.
Chartered MCIPD
MA Human Resource Management (Distinction)
ILM Level 3 & 5 facilitator
Aware HR Ltd since 2020
“Most businesses promote great people into management and then leave them to figure it out. I help make sure that doesn't happen.”
Nichola Morgan · Director, Aware HR
What I do
There are two ways I help growing businesses — get their people foundations right, and build leaders who can carry it.
People, Policy & Risk
- A growth plan for your peopleclear goals, paced to what your business can actually handle, with you out of the bottleneck
- Contracts & policiesthat reflect the values you uphold, stay compliant with the latest law, and hold up when someone challenges them
- Grievances, disciplinaries & departureshandled properly, first time
- An HR auditso you know what to prioritise first, before someone else finds the gaps for you
Leadership & Coaching
- First-time managerswho stop escalating everything to you — empowered to make the calls that support where the business is going
- 1:1 coachingfor the manager you can't afford to lose — building the confidence and skills to grow into the role
- Team & culture workso trust, honest feedback and celebrating the wins are normal — and the harder conversations get easier because of it
- ILM Level 3 & 5accredited leadership programmes
Why now
The ground is moving under every small employer.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is landing in stages between now and 2027. Some of it is already in force. Here's what actually affects an owner-managed business — and what each bit means in practice.
These are already law. If your handbook, payroll or contracts still say otherwise, you're non-compliant today — not in future.Coming into force. Handbooks, payroll and contracts need to be ready before these land.
Sick pay from day one
Waiting days are gone and the lower earnings limit has been removed, so statutory sick pay starts on the first full day of absence for every worker.
Check your payroll and sick pay policy actually reflect this.Paternity & parental leave from day one
The 26-week qualifying period no longer exists.
Most SME handbooks still say 26 weeks. Yours probably does.Six years of holiday records
You must retain records of leave taken, leave carried over and holiday pay for six years.
A spreadsheet someone updates now and then isn't a record.Redundancy consultation, twice as costly
The maximum protective award for getting collective consultation wrong has doubled from 90 to 180 days' pay.
Shortcuts in a restructure now cost double.Harassment as whistleblowing
Reporting sexual harassment is now explicitly protected as a whistleblowing disclosure.
The Fair Work Agency exists
A single enforcement body for pay, holiday and agency rules has been operating since 7 April 2026.
One body now joins up things that used to be checked separately.Still ahead. Two of these change how long your paperwork has to survive, and who you're responsible for.Already law. Your paperwork now has to survive twice as long, and you're responsible for more people than before.
The tribunal window doubles
Claims can be brought up to six months after the event, instead of three.
Twice as long for a disgruntled leaver to decide to act — and for your notes to be scrutinised.Liability for third-party harassment
You become liable for harassment of your staff by customers, contractors and suppliers unless you took all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Relevant to anyone with a customer-facing team.“All reasonable steps”
The sexual harassment prevention standard rises from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps.
A policy sitting in a drawer will not meet that test.Tipping policies
Workers must be consulted before a tipping policy is set, and it must be reviewed every three years.
Hospitality, retail and anywhere tips are shared.The big one. Most SME probation and performance processes were designed around a two-year runway. That runway disappears.That runway is gone.
Unfair dismissal at six months
Protection begins after six months' service rather than two years.
If you rely on "we'll know within the first year", you no longer can.The compensation cap goes
The statutory cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal is removed.
The downside of getting a dismissal wrong stops having a ceiling.Fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair
Dismissing someone and re-engaging them on worse terms is automatically unfair.
Changing terms now has to be done by agreement.Timing still to be confirmed by commencement regulations, but the direction is set. Check for the latest position before relying on this.
Guaranteed hours
Zero-hours and low-hours workers gain the right to guaranteed hours reflecting what they actually work, on request.
Shift notice and cancellation pay
Reasonable notice of shifts becomes a requirement, and compensation is payable when shifts are cancelled, moved or cut short.
Flexible working refusals
Turning down a flexible working request will require citing specific business reasons.
NDAs narrowed
Confidentiality clauses covering harassment or discrimination become void.
Check what your settlement agreement template says.Statutory bereavement leave
A new statutory right to bereavement leave is introduced.
Pregnancy & maternity protections
Dismissal protections for pregnant employees and new mothers are strengthened.
Implementation timetable per Acas. Dates after October 2026 remain subject to change by government. General information, not legal advice.
About Nichola
I managed operations before I advised on them.
Many HR consultants have limited experience outside the world of HR. I spent the first half of my career managing large, unionised operations — at one point leading a transport function of more than 400 drivers running 2,500 deliveries a week, with team leaders, agencies and cost controls underneath it.
That's the difference. When a business owner tells me a manager isn't coping, or that a grievance has gone sideways, or that they can't take a fortnight off without the wheels coming off, I've been on the other side of that desk. I know what the advice actually costs to implement.
I established Aware HR in 2020 while studying for an MA in Human Resource Management at Leeds Beckett, graduating with Distinction. I'm a Chartered Member of the CIPD, a Leadership Development Associate at Leeds Beckett's Leadership Centre, and I've delivered ILM Level 3 and Level 5 programmes to managers at organisations including Flutter Entertainment and Sky Betting & Gaming.
Day to day I work with digital agencies, professional services firms and media businesses across the UK — on a single project or as an ongoing strategic partner. Every engagement starts by understanding the specific situation rather than reaching for an off-the-shelf solution.
What people say after working with me.
I have recently been promoted to Manager level at the company I work for and that was in a huge part due to the ILM course. The qualification undoubtedly gave me the confidence to put into practice the theory I learnt.
Eloise MooreMedia Planning Manager, Sky Betting & Gaming
What I appreciated most was how naturally inclusive Nichola is. She made sure everyone felt involved, encouraged open conversation, and always gave people the space and confidence to share their thoughts.
Chloe FlanaganSenior Commercial Executive, Paddy Power
She clearly recognises that people learn in very different ways. Despite being a fairly substantial programme, the training was made genuinely digestible and enjoyable — highly interactive rather than lecture based.
Thierry NgutegureHead of Data Storytelling
The course content and examples were clear, well structured, and easy to follow, which made the learning practical and engaging. An excellent facilitator throughout.
Paul SheridanInfrastructure Engagement Lead, Flutter Entertainment
How it starts
A conversation, not a pitch.
Thirty minutes
Call or email me and we'll book a time. You tell me what's actually going on — the manager, the grievance, the growth plan, whatever it is.
Three things
You leave with the three things I'd fix first and what each involves. That's yours to keep, whether or not we work together.
Only if it fits
If it makes sense, I'll scope it properly. No long tie-ins — monthly or by the project, whichever suits.
Articles
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Book a review
Tell me what's going on.
That's with me.
I'll aim to get back to you as soon as possible.
Get in touch
Book a free 30-minute HR review.
No pitch. You'll leave with the three things I'd fix first — whether or not we work together.
I aim to get back to you as soon as possible.