Most small businesses do not have an HR department. They have a founder who also does HR, usually at nine o'clock at night, usually because something has already gone wrong.
That is fine right up until it is not. One grievance you handle badly, one contract that turns out not to be worth the paper it is written on, one dismissal that lands you at a tribunal, and the cost of not having proper support becomes very real very quickly. UK employment law is not something you can safely improvise, and the rules keep changing.
The good news is that you no longer need to hire a full time HR manager to get proper cover. There is a whole market of outsourced HR support built for exactly the businesses that cannot justify an in house team. Here are the five names every UK business owner should know, what each one is really for, and how to tell which type you need.
1. Avensure
Avensure is an outsourced HR and employment law provider aimed squarely at small and medium sized businesses, which is the gap most owners fall into. Too big to wing it, too small to employ someone full time.
What makes it worth a look is the combination. You get day to day HR support for the ordinary things, contracts, policies, handbooks, the awkward conversation you are not sure how to have, alongside genuine employment law backing for when something escalates. The point of difference they lead with is insurance backed cover, so if a case does go to tribunal you are not suddenly staring at a legal bill you never budgeted for.
If your main worry is that you do not know what you do not know, and you want one number to call before you do something that gets you in trouble, this is the type of provider built for you.
2. Peninsula
Peninsula is one of the largest employment law and HR support businesses in the country, so if scale reassures you, it is on the list for a reason. It offers the full spread of HR documentation, advice lines and health and safety support, and it works with a very large number of UK employers.
Being big cuts both ways. You get depth and round the clock advice, but some smaller businesses find a provider that size less personal than they hoped. Worth a conversation if you want an established name behind you and you value availability over a close relationship.
3. The HR Dept
The HR Dept runs on a local franchise model, which gives it a different flavour to the national providers. You deal with someone in your area who tends to know the local business scene, rather than a call centre.
For an owner who wants HR support that feels like a person rather than a portal, that local relationship is the selling point. It suits businesses that would rather build a rapport with one adviser over time than log a ticket every time something comes up.
4. CIPD
The CIPD is not a service you outsource to, it is the professional body for HR in the UK, and every business owner should have it bookmarked. It is where the qualified HR people you might hire or contract are trained and accredited.
Use it two ways. First, as a free library of sensible, up to date guidance on almost any people question you will face. Second, as a quality check. If you are hiring an HR consultant or an in house person, CIPD membership tells you they are the real thing rather than someone who read a blog and bought a lanyard.
5. Acas
Acas is the free one, and leaving it off a list like this would be daft. It is the government backed advisory service for workplace relations, and its guidance is the reference point tribunals themselves look to.
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Before you pay anyone for anything, the Acas website will answer a surprising number of your questions on disciplinaries, grievances, redundancy and notice, at no cost. Its early conciliation service is also a required step before most tribunal claims, so you will meet Acas eventually whether you plan to or not. Far better to know it as a resource than to first hear the name in a dispute.
How to choose the right one for you
The five above are not really competing for the same job, which is the thing to understand before you spend anything.
If you want cover, pick an outsourced provider. Avensure, Peninsula and The HR Dept are the ones you pay to carry the load, handle the paperwork, staff the advice line, and stand behind you if it goes legal. The differences between them come down to size and style. Insurance backed reassurance, a large established name, or a local relationship.
If you want knowledge, use the bodies. CIPD and Acas cost you nothing and will make you a far more confident employer on their own. Plenty of small businesses run perfectly well on those two plus a good contract template, right up until they grow enough to need proper cover.
The mistake is doing neither. Employment issues do not announce themselves in advance, and the cheapest possible time to sort out your HR is before you have a problem, not in the middle of one. Whichever of these you start with, starting is the point.
Related reading: Why Most Small Businesses Waste Half Their Google Ads Budget and The Best Product Review Sites to Check Before You Buy in 2026.
For the bigger picture, see my full guide to small business.
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