In this special end-of-year roundtable, the EWS team sits down for a rapid-fire look back at the HR moments, surprises and challenges that defined 2025 — and what employers should be ready for in 2026.
Karen is joined by Greg Arnold, Peter Norrie and Jane Van Gulick for a candid, insightful wrap-up of the year, including:
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The HR issues that just wouldn’t quit in 2025
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The “oh no, not again” moments that kept landing on our desks
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Why reasonable management action remains one of the most misunderstood areas of workplace law
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The trends and legislative changes that made life easier… and the many that didn’t
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The most creative excuses employees tried this year (including a meth-contaminated Panadol story you won’t forget)
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The behaviours we’d ban from workplaces in 2026
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The biggest misconceptions businesses still have about bullying, harassment and psychosocial safety
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2025’s HR buzzwords — and whether we should keep or kill them
We finish with the team’s predictions for 2026 and where businesses should be focusing their energy come January.
If you want a real-world snapshot of Australian HR challenges — straight from the desks of practising consultants and employment law experts — this is the episode to queue up.
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