Immediate HR advice during working hours
Direct access to practical HR guidance when managers need to sense-check a situation, understand their options or decide the next step.
Our retained service provides ongoing outsourced HR support, giving your organisation dependable access to HR expertise when people matters arise. From everyday questions to more formal processes, managers and leadership teams have practical support during working hours without needing to build a full internal HR function.
Retained support turns HR from a last-minute reaction into a more controlled management capability.
Practical guidance for employers, managers and leadership teams
Retained HR support gives your organisation an experienced point of contact for the employee matters managers deal with every day. Advice is available during working hours, helping you respond earlier, follow clearer processes and make decisions with greater confidence.
The service can operate as your outsourced HR function where no internal team exists, or provide additional capacity and reassurance alongside an existing HR lead. We work with your managers and leadership team so the support reflects how your organisation actually operates.
The retained service combines responsive advice, employee-relations support, formal process guidance and the documents managers need to handle people matters confidently and consistently.
Direct access to practical HR guidance when managers need to sense-check a situation, understand their options or decide the next step.
Ongoing support for the routine people questions and workplace concerns that managers need to handle fairly, clearly and consistently.
Guidance on attendance concerns, capability and performance issues, conduct matters and proportionate improvement processes.
Advice on recruitment processes, onboarding, early employment expectations and probation management so new hires start on a clearer footing.
Structured support through fact-finding, employee complaints, formal grievances and disciplinary procedures, with clear process and records.
Development and review of practical workplace policies and procedures that give managers clearer steps and employees clearer expectations.
Employee documentation that sets out employment terms, workplace expectations and the practical framework managers rely on.
Practical guidance that helps managers communicate clearly, apply processes consistently and make well-judged people decisions.
Retained support is most valuable when managers use it early. We help assess the immediate issue, the employee-relations context, the process to follow and the records required before positions harden.
Clarify the issue, identify the practical options and plan the next conversation before an avoidable misunderstanding develops.
Review the facts, apply a proportionate process and support the manager with appropriate communication, expectations and records.
Review the recruitment, onboarding and probation position, clarify expectations and decide what fair action should follow.
Structure the investigation and formal process, preserve fairness and ensure decisions are supported by clear documentation.
Identify gaps, update the relevant documents and create practical processes that managers can understand and follow.
Add responsive support, a second perspective and practical capacity when workloads increase or matters become more sensitive.
The strongest arrangements are clear and practical. We agree how advice will be requested, who can access support, which documents are in scope and how ongoing priorities will be managed.
Review how the organisation works, the current HR capability, recurring employee issues and the documents already in use.
Define the scope, working arrangements, priority documentation and the managers or leaders authorised to request support.
Provide practical advice during working hours as matters arise, with proportionate documents, process guidance and clear next actions.
Use recurring questions and emerging risks to improve manager capability, documentation and workplace consistency over time.
It can act as your outsourced HR function or sit alongside an existing team, giving managers reliable access to additional expertise when they need it.
Discuss your organisationOwners and managers need dependable HR expertise without recruiting a full-time internal function.
Leadership and management teams need practical support when everyday employee questions or formal issues arise.
Contracts, handbooks, policies or management practices no longer reflect the organisation or are applied inconsistently.
An internal HR lead or leadership team needs responsive backup, a second perspective or help managing employee issues consistently.
The appropriate arrangement depends on the size of the organisation, current HR capability, likely volume of support and the documents that need attention.
The service can provide ongoing access to HR expertise during working hours, day-to-day advice, employee relations support, guidance on absence, performance and conduct, help with recruitment, onboarding and probation, support through investigations, grievances and disciplinary processes, and development or review of contracts, handbooks, policies and procedures.
Yes. It is particularly useful for organisations that need dependable guidance for managers, current HR documents and consistent handling of employee matters without recruiting a full internal team.
Yes. It can add responsive capacity, provide a second perspective and support internal HR colleagues or leadership teams when workloads increase or a matter is complex, sensitive or time-critical.
The retained arrangement can include development and review of employment contracts, employee handbooks, workplace policies, disciplinary and grievance procedures, absence and leave policies, and recruitment or onboarding documentation, subject to the agreed scope.
Retained support provides an ongoing relationship and regular access to HR expertise. Ad-hoc support is designed for a particular issue, document or project where a continuing arrangement is not required.
We first understand your organisation, existing HR capability and the support you expect to need. The team can then explain an appropriate scope and the practical next steps.
Share a short outline of your organisation, current HR capability and the employee matters managers regularly handle. The team can then discuss whether a retained outsourced arrangement is appropriate.