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HR outsourcing is an alternative to having an in-house HR team. For many organisations, it is not cost-effective to have an in-house HR team so outsourcing HR is a great option.

All organisations that employ people require some level of HR support.

When taking on your first employee, your business needs to provide employment contracts and other documents to ensure compliance with employment legislation. Well-drafted employment documentation can also help protect an organisation’s interests.

The best time to outsource your HR is before any tricky people issues arise. As you would expect, it’s much easier to manage people issues when you are proactive rather than reactive.

Ideally, you should outsource your HR at the point of taking on your first employee. That way, you can have your employment contracts and other employment documentation drafted by a professional. They will ensure your documents are legally compliant and protect business interests.

Realistically, we understand many organisations look to outsource their HR when there is a people problem that needs to be resolved (such as a grievance, redundancy, or performance management issue). That is fine. We are happy to help whenever a problem arises.

HR services assist with people management for businesses of all types and sizes. People management, or HR services, can be provided by an in-house HR department or an outsourced professional who knows and understands the business.

HR services are available at every point of the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to redundancy and everything in between.

Some employers may be surprised to find out that employment law applies right at the start of the recruitment process. It is from here that HR services can be beneficial. Firstly, to ensure business processes are compliant with employment law such as discrimination and secondly to make sure that the best person is recruited for the hiring company.

Other HR services include but are not limited to:

  • Payroll
  • Disciplinary and grievances hearings
  • Absence management
  • Performance and appraisals
  • Employee training
  • Health and well-being

No problem is too big or too small to seek professional advice from an HR expert.

In-house HR is a business function provided by skilled employees for a company.

Whether an individual HR advisor or a team lead by a HR manager, the in-house HR department is responsible for human resources and people management for the business. This ranges from recruitment to training, grievances, absence management, managing the leavers process and more.

The HR employees will have an employment contract and be enrolled in the company’s payroll.

Outsourced HR refers to HR services provided to a business by an external HR professional or agency. The outsourced HR provider will not be employed by the company and will instead have a contract for agreed services.

Outsourced HR provided by The HR Dept can apply to one off pay-as-you-go needs or provide longer term advice covered by the protection of employment tribunal insurance.

Employees have various rights including:

  • Payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
  • Maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay
  • The right not to be unfairly dismissed
  • Statutory redundancy pay
  • The National Minimum/Living Wage
  • Protection against unlawful deductions from wages
  • Itemised pay statements
  • The statutory minimum level of paid holiday
  • The statutory minimum length of rest breaks
  • Receiving notice of termination of employment
  • Time off for family emergencies
  • To not work more than 48 hours on average per week or to opt out of this right if they choose
  • Protection against unlawful discrimination

All employees must be issued with written particulars of employment on or before their first day of employment.

If an employer wishes to terminate or dismiss an employee, they must have a valid reason for doing so and must follow a fair and legal process.

Unless gross misconduct has occurred, dismissal should only happen if a disciplinary procedure, as detailed in the company’s disciplinary policy, has been unsuccessful. An investigation with appropriate evidence will be required to establish facts, avoid discrimination and manage the risk of unfair dismissal.

Depending on the employment contract, employers must provide either contractual notice of termination or the legal minimum of notice. The legal minimum is one week for employees who have served under two years with a company.

Dismissals can be complicated and carry high risk of breaching employment law if not handled correctly. It is advised to seek professional HR support to carry out dismissals.

The cost of an employment tribunal depends on the claim being made and the outcome of the case.

Losing an employment tribunal can result in substantial fines being paid out in awards to the claimant.

Tribunal costs vary greatly, but here are some examples of the biggest awards in the year 2018/2019 and the claims involved:

  • The largest unfair dismissal award was £947,585 – the average was £13,704
  • The largest race discrimination award was £33,660 – the average was £12,487
  • The largest sex discrimination was £24,103 – the average was £8,774
  • The largest disability discrimination award was £416,015 – the average was £28,371
  • The largest age discrimination award was £172,070 – the average was £26,148

When looking at background checks we mean all checks that are above and beyond taking references from previous employers, which most organisations undertake, and right to work in the UK checks, which are mandatory for all employees.

Typically, organisations working in financial services, particularly where there is a requirement for financial background screening, and companies who have staff working with children or vulnerable adults, are more likely to undertake background screening.

An organisation can choose which areas it would like to screen including:

  • Criminal records
  • Social media
  • Credit checks
  • Education and credential verifications
  • DVLA checks – for roles that require a degree of driving
  • Public safety verifications

Organisations will need to assess what checks are proportionate and relevant to the role in question and how they will use the information once received.