HR Advice Service

One hour of my time can probably save MANY hours of your time!

As a business owner you will be all too aware how frequently HR matters can crop up and how quickly a simple matter can develop into a major headache. When one of those headaches crops up you need an answer today – not next week!

My HR Advice Service provides you with the opportunity to access professional HR advice and support just when you need it, so you can focus on running your business. I will provide straight-forward answers to your HR questions, no matter how routine they might be. Whether you want to check the steps you need to follow when investigating a potential case of gross misconduct, discuss an employee with an unsatisfactory absence record or double check statutory entitlements such as holiday or maternity, I will be able offer as much or as little support as you need.

I follow up every conversation with a written summary of the key points of the discussion with the step by step advice I provided. I will attach any template letters, forms, meeting scripts or other documents you may need to implement the advice I have provided.

How The Kea HR Advice Service Can Help Your Business

Members of the Kea HR Advice Service receive support and advice in the following key areas of HR:

Benefits of the HR Advice Service

If you decide to take advantage of my experience in handling employment issues you will benefit from …

Quick and Practical Answers To Your Questions Questions can be about the application of a HR policy or how to handle a HR situation that is happening in your business. I will talk through what is happening and will provide a practical and legally compliant solution. You will always talk to me, there’s no call centre or scripts here and if you need to call back you don’t need to start right back at the beginning! I respond quickly too, if something is happening in your business you need a solution today not next week.

Range of Solutions If you choose to work with me, you’ll find I won’t baffle you with legal jargon nor will I sit on the fence by delivering a zero-risk approach. Whatever HR situation you are facing I will probably have seen it before and will provide a straightforward explanation of the range of options available to you and will explain any risks associated with those options. You are then able to make a decision that is right for your business.

Step by Step Guidance I will provide step-by-step instructions so you know exactly where you are in the process and will keep you on track with what needs to be done next.

Follow Up I appreciate how difficult it is to discuss, listen and take notes at the same time, so always provide you with written confirmation of my advice, so that you have a step-by-step process to follow along with all the letters, forms or meeting scripts you will need to implement the advice.

Provide Peace of Mind Receiving tailored, quality HR advice when you need it will enable you to confidently deal with the HR issues you face on a daily basis. You don’t have to spend hours looking on the Internet for an answer that you can’t be certain is accurate

Saves Your Time You don’t have to spend hours searching the Internet for information that when you find it you can’t really be sure whether it’s legally compliant.

Why Choose The Kea HR Advice Service?

When you join my HR Advice Service you will be taking advantage of over 25 years of experience in supporting Directors and line managers with the full range of HR issues. I will work closely with you, providing all the services you would expect from an inhouse HR Manager and will support you and your management team with every aspect of managing your people including providing HR documents to enable you to implement the advice I provide and peace of mind that your business is protected.

I have a proven track record of been the first point of contact for staffing issues in businesses and will be able to provide you with practical advice and support to deal with your HR matter, whilst ensuring you remain compliant with complex employment legislation.

18 Years of Success

In April 2024 I will be celebrating 18 years of trading as Kea HR. In that time I’ve had a few new clients who have got in touch with me because they have received a tribunal claim and in the short term I’ve helped them deal with that and in the medium to long term I’ve made sure they don’t receive any more. During that time I’ve only had one existing client who has received a tribunal claim and I argued that the claim was vexatious and had no reasonable prospect of success; the judge made the decision to strike out the claim.

Who Uses The Kea HR Advice Service?

The businesses who use the HR Advice and Support Service have between 1 and 100 staff, with the majority having between 10 and 30 employees and a few have grown larger than 100. Some of the clients who use this service are startups who are wanting to get it right from the very beginning but most are established businesses. None of the clients who use this service have any internal HR expertise with a Director, Accountant or Office Manager taking responsibility for day-to-day HR matters. Some of the larger businesses have an HR Administrator who coordinates day-to-day HR activities and the business use me as an additional resource when something more complex happens.

If your headcount exceeds 100, I would be happy to provide a quote.

Building Your HR Advice Service Package

I don’t believe in a one size fits all approach and will provide a service that is customised to meet your circumstances, requirements and budget.

Remote Advice Package

Remote HR advice can be provided by phone, email, text or social media messaging. So, I am here for you to use just when you need me.

I will provide straight-forward answers to your HR questions, no matter how routine they might be. Whether you want to check the steps you need to follow when investigating a potential case of gross misconduct, discuss an employee with an unsatisfactory absence record or double check statutory entitlements such as holiday or maternity, I will guide you through the correct process and protect you from costly employment tribunal claims.

I follow up every conversation with a written summary of the key points of the discussion with the step-by-step advice I provided. I will attach any template letters, forms, meeting scripts or other documents you may need to implement the advice I have provided.

For your peace of mind, I offer unlimited advice when you sign up to the remote HR Advice and Support Service package. This means when you need advice you have the peace of mind that you can ring me without worrying about how much the bill will be.

If you are a member of my Remote Advice Package and something that is happening in your business is starting to worry you, having a quick conversation with me will eliminate those 4am panic moments. No matter what time it is a quick text or social media message will help you sleep at night and then we can have a longer discussion the following day.

Additional Services To Boost Your Package

I offer a range of services which you can add to your basic package. Some are annual contracts whilst others are ah-hoc which you can dip in and out of as required.

Legal Compliance Package

Having legally compliant HR Policies and Contracts of Employment is vital to reduce risks in your business. I won’t force a set of pre-written HR Policies and Contracts of Employment on you. What I will do is review, update and maintain your existing employee handbook and ensure your suite of employment contracts protect your business. I will develop, implement and maintain a consistent approach to your HR related policies and procedures which will be based on employment legislation, best practice techniques and your HR practices. They will also support your business goals and objectives and increase employee engagement and retention. Once implemented I will coach your line managers in your HR processes.

HR Admin Package

I will issue offer letters and employment contracts and follow up on references for all new employees. For existing employees, I will prepare letters to confirm changes to terms and conditions and time off work such as periods of maternity leave and responding to flexible working requests. When employees are leaving, I will prepare letters to confirm you are accepting their resignation and will respond to requests for references from the new employer.

HR Software Package

Kea HR have partnered with Breathe HR so we can help you streamline your HR processes and manage your employee admin in a more efficient way for better business performance. The Core HR software is a powerful solution for managing HR administrative tasks including holidays; absence; performance and training. Additional modules include: e-learning, rotas, time and attendance and expenses. If you include the software in your package I will set up and manage your account for you.

On-site Support

Essential if HR issues are taking up more and more of your time and you want to introduce a regular HR presence into your business, at the fraction of the cost of employing a HR Manager. I can provide regular or ad-hoc on-site support for instance: attendance at management meetings or to support you with a complex disciplinary hearing.

Recruitment

Whether you’re looking to recruit your first employee or need to ramp up your headcount, managing that process will be very time consuming. I have many years’ experience in shortlisting and interviewing and can manage your recruitment processes on your behalf. I would manage everything from preparation of the job description through to reference checking the successful candidate.

Routine HR Projects

Are you struggling to keep all your HR balls in the air? If so, passing some of those balls over to me will provide you with a quick and cost-effective solution to managing your day-to-day HR matters. Tasks such as disciplinary investigations are time consuming pieces of work that take you away from running your business. These are the HR Projects that I am experienced in dealing with and I am here to keep you on track by providing you with guidance and support.

Specialist HR Projects

I will deal with more complex HR matters on your behalf such as handling settlement agreements and COT3 agreements. I will respond to any tribunal claims you receive. Depending on the nature of the claim I may need to involve specialist legal support which would attract an additional fee. I will also support you through the transfer of employees in to or out of your business

Cost of Additional Services

The cost of regular additional services would be built into your package. Ad-hoc use of additional services would be billed monthly, the cost of the service would be agreed with you in advance.