Who it's for

Any business, charity, NGO or not-for-profit that wants a clear picture of its HR. Whether you've never had HR support, use an outside adviser or have your own HR team, it's a good place to start before you grow, change or refresh how you do things.

Areas we can review

• Employment contracts, policies and handbooks
• Employee records, onboarding and right-to-work processes
• Approaches to absence, performance and employee relations
• Pay, benefits, leave and working arrangements
• Management and leadership support
• Employee engagement, workplace culture and development
• People data, analytics, systems and opportunities to improve efficiency
• Employee health and wellbeing arrangements

We agree the scope with you, based on your priorities, workforce and operating context.

What you get

A short written report, ranked by risk: what's working, what needs attention and what to do first. We talk it through with you and agree the next steps.

How long it takes

We agree the timing once we know your size and what to include. Before we start, we'll tell you exactly which documents and conversations we need from you.

Who it's for

Anyone hiring for the first time, growing quickly, or working from documents nobody has looked at in years. We make sure they're clear, consistent and right for your organisation.

What we can write

• Employment contracts for permanent, part-time, fixed-term and casual staff
• The policies the law expects you to have: disciplinary, grievance, health and safety, data protection, and more
• The policies that save you trouble: absence, flexible working, holiday, expenses, social media, home working
• A staff handbook that pulls it together in language people will read
• Offer letters, probation letters, variation letters and other standard correspondence

How we do it

We ask about how your business really works, then write for that. A café, a care agency and a software firm need different things, and a downloaded template gives all three the same document. Everything is checked against current UK employment law before it reaches you.

What you get

Finished documents in Word, ready to issue, with a short note on how to roll them out to staff and when to review them.

The situations we handle

• Someone off sick long-term, or off sick a lot
• A member of staff who isn't performing and needs to improve or move on
• Conduct problems: lateness, attitude, breaking the rules
• A grievance raised against you or a manager
• Disciplinary hearings, outcomes and appeals
• A difficult exit that you want to get right

How it works

Call or email us with what's happened. We'll assess the situation, tell you honestly where the risk is, and give you a step-by-step approach. We draft every letter, invitation and outcome you need, in line with the ACAS Code of Practice, so that if it were ever looked at by a tribunal it would hold up. If you want us to sit in on the meeting, or to hear a grievance independently so it isn't you deciding on a complaint about you, we can do that too.

Why it matters

Most tribunal claims against smaller employers aren't about the decision. They're about the process: a meeting that wasn't minuted, a letter that didn't offer an appeal, a warning that was never written down. Getting the process right is cheaper than getting it wrong.

Who it's for

Any employer that needs to reduce headcount, merge roles, change hours or terms, or reorganise a team. That can be two roles in an organisation of twenty, a whole department, or a charity restructuring after a grant ends. The law has a set order of steps, and the order matters more than most owners realise.

What's involved

• Working out the business case and which roles are affected
• Fair selection criteria, applied consistently and documented
• Consultation: individual, and collective where 20 or more roles are affected
• Considering alternatives and any counter-proposals properly
• Notice, redundancy pay, settlement agreements where appropriate
• Looking after the people who stay: communication, workload, morale

How a larger programme runs

For bigger restructures we run five phases over ten to fourteen weeks. Smaller ones follow the same order at a faster pace.

Independent grievance handling

Restructures often trigger grievances, and if the same person who chose the redundancies also hears the complaint about it, every outcome can be challenged. We can act as the independent party: a confidential channel for staff, cases logged and reviewed by someone outside your management chain, and a full record if it's ever needed.

Healthcare and care providers

We have particular experience with restructures in care settings, where CQC or Care Inspectorate requirements and the duty of care to service users shape every decision, and where staff in England and Scotland may sit under the same programme. Ask us about this on the call.

We run the whole hire

You tell us what you need. We come back with a shortlist worth interviewing and handle everything in between, so you spend your time meeting good candidates rather than reading applications.

• Defining the role properly, including what it pays and what it will really involve
• Writing the job description and advert, and placing them where the right people look
• Searching directly for candidates who aren't actively applying
• Screening applications and holding first-stage conversations
• A shortlist with honest notes on each person, not a pile of CVs
• Interview questions, scoring and structure so you choose fairly and can show why
• Offers, negotiation, references, right-to-work checks and contracts
• Keeping the candidate warm between offer and start date, when most hires are lost

Or just the parts you want

Some clients have the candidates and want the process done properly. Others want the whole thing off their desk. You can take the full service per role, a fixed-fee hiring pack you reuse yourself, or a monthly recruitment plan if you're hiring steadily.

Priced to make sense

Traditional agencies charge fifteen to twenty-five per cent of first-year salary, which on a £35,000 hire is £5,250 to £8,750. We work on a fixed fee per role agreed before we start, so the cost doesn't rise with the salary and you know it up front.

Onboarding that makes it stick

A hire isn't finished on day one. We'll set up a first-week plan, a thirty, sixty and ninety day structure, and a probation review that actually happens, so new people become productive quickly and know where they stand.

Keeping the people you have

Most organisations lose people for reasons they could have fixed. We look at why your leavers left, how your pay and benefits compare, whether people can see a way to progress, and how well their manager knows them. Then we tell you the two or three changes that would make the most difference. We can also set up exit conversations and a simple way of asking your team how things are going, so you hear about a problem while it's still a conversation and not a resignation.

Competing without a big budget

You won't always win on salary, and you don't have to. Flexibility, genuine development, a manager worth working for and a clear sense of direction all count, and they cost less than a counter-offer. We'll help you work out what you can honestly offer and how to say it.

What we put in place

• Objectives people understand, connected to what the organisation is trying to do
• One-to-ones that are worth having, with a structure managers can follow
• A light-touch appraisal or review cycle that fits your size, not a corporate form
• Honest feedback, given early, so small things don't become disciplinaries
• Clear job levels and progression, so people can see where they're going
• Recognition that doesn't cost much and lands better than you'd expect

Management and leadership support

Most managers were promoted because they were good at the job, not because anyone taught them to manage. We help with the parts they find hardest: setting clear expectations, giving honest feedback, handling difficult conversations and leading people through change.

That can be one-to-one coaching, team workshops, or helping you design your own management development programme. We agree the approach with you, based on what your managers actually need.

Surveys and culture

Want to know how your team really feels, or reset how things are done as you grow? That's covered under employee surveys and culture refresh, and it works well alongside this.

Asking your people

We run a short, confidential survey, or a few small group conversations, so staff can say what they really think. We agree the questions with you and explain to staff how their answers will be used.

• Survey design and the message to staff
• Results analysed and explained in plain English
• A session with you to talk through what it means
• Two or three priorities, who owns them, and when you'll check back

Refreshing your culture

The way things are done when there are eight of you stops working at twenty-five. Through workshops with you and your team, we agree what to keep, what needs to change and what good looks like day to day. Then we help you bring new joiners into it properly.

Closing the loop

The fastest way to lose trust is to ask for feedback and then go quiet. We help you tell staff what you heard, what will change, what won't, and why.

What you get

A clear summary of what people told you, agreed priorities and a practical action plan, with follow-up support if you want it.

Where it can save you time

• Writing job adverts, job descriptions and interview questions
• Sorting and screening applications, with a person always making the decision
• First drafts of letters, policies and staff updates
• Summarising meeting notes, survey comments and feedback
• Answering common staff questions about holiday, policies and benefits

Starting where you are

You don't need to be technical, and you don't need to buy anything big. We look at how your team works now, find the two or three tasks that eat the most time, and start there. Often the tools you already pay for can do more than you think.

Using it safely

Your staff are probably already using AI, with or without a policy. We write a short, plain-English AI policy so everyone knows what's fine, what isn't, and what should never be pasted into a chatbot. We make sure personal data is handled properly and that a person still makes the decisions that affect people.

What you get

A short review of where AI can help, the tools set up and tested, a simple staff policy, and a training session so your team feels confident using it.

Payroll

• Setting up payroll properly, or reviewing what you have and fixing what's wrong
• Getting starters, leavers and changes into the system on time, every month
• Holiday pay, sick pay, maternity and paternity pay calculated correctly
• Pensions and auto-enrolment: enrolling people when you must, and the records to prove it
• Payslips, PAYE and the returns HMRC expects
• Checking you're on the right side of the National Minimum Wage rules, including the ones that catch people out

Where you want it run for you, we work with established payroll providers and manage them on your behalf, so you have one person to ask rather than a helpdesk.

Benefits reviews and refresh

A benefits package doesn't have to be expensive to be worth having. We look at what your people would actually value, what comparable employers offer, and what you can sustain, then help you put it in place and explain it so people know what they've got. Pension contributions above the minimum, flexible and hybrid working done properly, extra leave, family-friendly policies, wellbeing support, learning budgets, cycle and tech schemes, and salary sacrifice where it genuinely helps.

Pay that makes sense

We can also help you set simple pay bands, so that when someone asks why a colleague earns more, you have an answer. That protects you legally and removes one of the most common causes of resentment in a growing team.

What we don't do

We are not accountants or regulated financial advisers. We won't advise your staff on which pension to choose or recommend investments. We make sure the employer side is set up correctly and bring in the right specialist where one is needed.

Sound familiar?

• Holiday requests by text message and a wall planner nobody updates
• Timesheets on paper, added up by hand before payroll
• Rotas rebuilt from scratch every week
• Staff files in a drawer, or spread across three inboxes
• No easy way to see who's off sick, and how often

What we help with

• Time and attendance, and timesheets
• Holiday booking and absence tracking
• Rotas and shift planning
• Digital staff records and documents
• Onboarding new starters
• Simple reports for managers
• Linking it to your payroll, where the system allows

Choosing the right one

We look at what you need, what you already use and what you can afford, then shortlist two or three options and help you choose. We recommend what suits you, not what suits a software supplier.

Setting it up so people use it

We move your information across, set the system up to match how you work, and train your managers and staff. We also sort out who can see what, so personal information stays private.

What's included

• A named HR contact who knows your business and your people
• Questions answered by phone or email, usually the same day
• Employee issues handled as they come up, within your hours
• Contracts, policies and handbook kept up to date as the law changes
• A short note when employment law changes in a way that affects you
• Coaching for your managers on the conversations they find hard

How it works

You choose a number of hours a month that fits your size, typically between four and twelve. We track them and tell you where you are. Unused hours can roll over for a month; bigger jobs like a restructure are quoted separately so your plan doesn't get swallowed.

Who it's for

Organisations of roughly 10 to 100 staff that have regular people questions but nowhere near enough to justify an HR hire. Owners and trustees who want to stop being the HR department. Managers who want someone to check with before they act.

Questions we help you answer

• Are we losing people, and from where?
• Is sickness absence going up, and in which teams?
• How long does it take us to hire, and what does it cost?
• Is pay fair across similar roles?
• How many people will we need next year?

Simple reports you'll actually use

We start with the information you already have, tidy it up, and build a short monthly report or dashboard. Just the handful of numbers that matter for your organisation, explained in plain words.

Turning numbers into action

A number on its own doesn't change much. We help you understand what's behind it and agree what to do next, whether that's a conversation with a manager or a change to how you hire.

Keeping it confidential

People data is personal. We make sure only the right people see the right information, and that reports never single anyone out.

Start with what you already have

Many organisations already offer more than they realise, through a pension provider, insurance or an employee assistance line, but staff don't know it's there. We look at what you have, what your people say they need, and where the gaps are.

A wellbeing plan that fits

We help you build a simple plan covering mental, physical and financial wellbeing, with clear owners and a realistic budget. Small, steady things usually do more than a one-off wellbeing week.

Helping your managers

Managers are usually the first to notice when someone is struggling. We train them to have that conversation well, know what support is available and know when to point someone towards professional help.

Joining it up

Wellbeing works best when it connects to how you handle absence, workload, benefits and flexible working. We make sure it does, and agree a few simple ways to check it's making a difference. Medical and counselling services are always provided by qualified specialists.