HR Services for Small Businesses in the UK
Practical, plain-English HR — built around how small businesses actually work
Used by SMEs across the UK. Direct access to a CIPD-qualified consultant with over a decade of UK employment-law experience. HR support packages start at £175/month with no annual lock-in.
Book a Free Discovery CallWhy small businesses need HR support designed for them
UK employment law treats a 5-person business the same way it treats a 500-person one. The same notice requirements, the same right-to-work checks, the same flexible-working obligations, the same consultation rules when a redundancy is being considered. The only thing that's different is the margin for error: a single mishandled disciplinary or unfair-dismissal claim can cost a small employer more than their annual marketing budget.
The traditional HR consultancy model wasn't built for that reality. Most established HR consultancies are structured around supporting other people's HR teams — they assume you have an HR Manager who's already done the paperwork and just needs senior validation. Their minimum monthly retainers reflect that assumption: £500, £1,000 or £2,000+ per month is common, which puts real expert support out of reach for the businesses that need it most.
The self-service HR software market filled some of that gap with policy templates and absence trackers. That helps with the admin layer. But the moments where HR actually matters — the awkward conversation, the disciplinary hearing, the redundancy consultation, the resignation letter you didn't see coming — aren't admin. They're judgement calls, and judgement calls don't come out of a template.
What small businesses need is judgement-quality HR delivered fast, at a price small businesses can actually afford. That's the gap our service plans were built to fill — direct access to an experienced HR consultant for £175/month, scaling up to embedded partnership and fractional HR-director cover where the size of the business warrants it.
Five service plans — one will fit your business
From occasional advice through to embedded partnership. Each plan is rolling monthly — you keep it for as long as it's working and switch tiers when your needs change.
HR Advice Line
£175/monthUp to two hours of expert HR advice per month via phone or email. Best for small businesses with no in-house HR team who face occasional issues — a disciplinary, a contract question, a flexible-working request — but don't need someone on retainer full-time.
Learn more about the HR Advice Line →HR Protect
£299/monthUnlimited HR support hours, on-site visits when needed, full policy and contract creation, document templates and proactive compliance management. Right when occasional advice isn't enough but you don't need a full HR Director.
Learn more about HR Protect →HR Excel
£549/monthMost popularEverything in HR Protect plus strategic people planning, employee engagement programmes, performance management frameworks and leadership development. Built for growing SMEs that are starting to think about culture as well as compliance.
Learn more about HR Excel →HR Business Partner
£799/monthEmbedded HR partnership for businesses that want the equivalent of an in-house HR Manager without the salaried cost. Regular on-site presence, line-manager coaching, complex casework, and direct involvement in hiring, restructuring and retention.
Learn more about HR Business Partner →Fractional HR Director
BespokeSenior HR leadership on a part-time basis — board-level input on people strategy, succession planning, organisational design, and cultural change. For businesses too small for a full-time HR Director but too complex to run without strategic HR input.
Learn more about Fractional HR Director →How we work with small businesses
A named consultant, not a call-centre rota
You speak to the same person each time. They know your business, your team, and the history of the issue you're calling about.
One business day on enquiries
Every enquiry gets an initial response within one working day. For genuine emergencies — same-day suspensions, walkouts — package clients reach us by phone.
Plain English, no acronym soup
HR jargon ("PIP", "TUPE", "Section 1 statement") is fine when you already know what it means. When you don't, jargon is just gatekeeping. We explain things in language you can repeat back to your team without sounding like you're reading a textbook.
Honest scope assessment
If your situation is best handled by an employment solicitor rather than an HR consultant, we'll tell you that up front. We'd rather direct you to the right help than oversell our own.
Sectors we work with
UK employment law doesn't change by sector — but the texture of HR issues does. We've worked across most of the SME-dominant sectors in the UK and bring sector-specific context where it matters.
Professional services (legal, accountancy, marketing, design)
Retail, hospitality and food & beverage
Healthcare, dentistry and care providers
Tech, digital and SaaS businesses
Manufacturing and engineering SMEs
Construction, trades and field services
Education, training and edtech
Logistics, transport and distribution
Charity, community and not-for-profit
What you get on your first call
Every relationship starts with a free 15-minute discovery call. It's deliberately short so it doesn't feel like a commitment, and deliberately structured so you leave with something concrete. Here's what happens:
A short conversation about your situation. What's going on, what's prompted the call, what you've already tried.
An honest assessment of fit. Whether this is the kind of issue we typically help with, whether you'd benefit more from a one-off or ongoing support, whether you actually need an HR consultant or an employment solicitor.
A concrete next-step suggestion. If we can help, the specific service tier we'd recommend and what working together would look like. If we can't, the name of who probably can.
No obligation, no follow-up sales calls, no pressure. The first call is genuinely free because most small businesses can't tell from a website whether the consultant on the other end of it is right for them — and a 15-minute conversation usually settles it either way.
Frequently asked questions
I only have 5 employees. Is HR support really worth it?
Yes — and arguably more so than for larger employers. Small employers face exactly the same legal obligations under UK employment law as a 500-person company, but with far less margin for error. A single unfair dismissal claim averages around £28,000 in awards plus costs. The HR Advice Line at £175/month exists specifically so businesses with 1-20 employees can access experienced HR judgement without paying enterprise rates.
What's the minimum commitment on your packages?
Our HR Advice Line and HR Protect packages are rolling monthly with one month's notice to cancel. No annual lock-in. We'd rather earn the relationship each month than rely on a contract. For HR Business Partner and Fractional HR Director engagements we usually agree a minimum 3-month scope so the work has time to deliver value.
Do you work with businesses outside Hampshire?
Yes. The majority of our HR support is delivered remotely via phone, email and video — meaning we work with small businesses across England, Wales and Scotland. We're based in Totton, just outside Southampton, and offer in-person visits across Hampshire, Dorset and the surrounding counties when it adds value. For remote-only clients we cover the whole UK.
What's the difference between HR support and an employment lawyer?
An employment lawyer is the right call once a dispute has formal legal status — tribunal proceedings, contested termination, or anything that needs a solicitor's privilege. HR support is everything before that: preventing the situation, getting the process right, drafting policies that hold up, handling difficult conversations correctly. Many of our clients use us alongside their solicitor.
Can you help if I've already received a grievance or tribunal claim?
Yes. We've supported clients through live grievances, disciplinary appeals, tribunal claims and ACAS conciliation. If it's pre-tribunal we can handle the HR process directly. If a tribunal claim has been filed, we can work alongside your employment solicitor on the people side — gathering evidence, preparing witness statements, ensuring the underlying HR process can be defended.
How quickly do you respond to urgent HR issues?
All enquiries get an initial response within one business day. For genuine emergencies — someone walking out, a misconduct incident requiring same-day suspension, an immediate disciplinary — package clients can reach us by phone for same-day guidance. We don't operate a call-centre rota: you'll speak to a named consultant who knows your business.
Find the right HR plan for your small business
Book a free 15-minute discovery call. No obligation, no follow-up sales pressure — just an honest conversation about what you need.
Book a Discovery Call