HR CONSULTANCY FOR GROWING BUSINESSES WITHOUT IN-HOUSE HR
Your what-ifs, sorted.
Outsourced HR support for growing businesses with no in-house HR.
"What if... she stays for five years? What if we win the one we've entered? What if I could be the employer my last boss wasn't?"
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Some of those keep you awake. Some are the reason you started. You run them on your own and most of them never get said out loud. What If HR is where they go to get sorted, calmly and early, without being made to feel silly for asking. One named consultant, across Surrey, London and the South East, and remotely across the UK.
Something happening right now? Call 07557 982407, Monday to Frinday 9 to 5 or email hello@whatifhr.co.uk. We reply the same working day.
One named consultant · Fixed pricing agreed first · Surrey · London · South East · Remote UK
FSB member · CIPD Associate · ICO registered · ClarityLoop Partner · BreatheHR Partner · Hireful Partner
WHERE TO START
Wherever you are right now, there is a way in.
You do not have to know exactly what you need. Most owners arrive at one of these four moments, and we shape the support around your business from there. All prices + VAT.
from £595
Getting set up
Making your first hire, or putting proper foundations in place. Contracts, handbooks and playbooks, core policies and onboarding.
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First Hire Ready · HR Foundations Build · HR Backbone Programme
from £150 a month
Ongoing support
A retained HR partner who knows your business and is there when something comes up, month to month.
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£750 per case
A live issue
Something has happened with a member of staff and you need to handle it correctly, now. Disciplinary, grievance, absence, performance.
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from £395
A specific project
One thing done properly: an HR health check, manager training, or getting your HR system working.
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HR Health Check · Manager Confidence Workshop · HR Systems Setup, Recruitment
Not sure which fits? See all services, or book a free call and we'll point you the right way.
WHAT WE DO
What changes when you have proper HR behind you.
★★★★★
Rated 5.0 from 30 Google reviews
"What If HR is our go-to HR partner. We don't have an in-house team, so having Elena on hand for payroll, employment contracts and tricky compliance matters like statutory sick or holiday pay has been invaluable."
Google review, What If HR client
"Great advice on redundancy! Thank you What if HR"
Google review, What If HR client
Read all 29 reviews on our Google Business Profile, or see how a Surrey day care went from HR firefighting to embedded support in our client story.
WHAT WE DO
Wherever you are right now, there is a way in.
Prevent
The expensive people problems start small: a missing contract clause, a policy no one follows, a manager unsure what to say. We get the foundations right so those problems never grow. Proper employment contracts, a staff handbook people use, clear processes for hiring, absence, probation and performance.
Handle
Some situations you cannot see coming. A grievance out of nowhere, someone signed off with no return date, a disciplinary or dismissal that has to be done correctly. When that happens, you get calm support that tells you exactly where you stand and what to do next.
HOW IT WORKS
Getting started is simple.
1
A free call
Tell us what is happening. No obligation and no judgement. Just an honest conversation about where you are.
2
A clear plan
We tell you what your business needs, what it does not, and what it costs. Fixed where the work is defined, a clear quote where it needs shaping.
3
Someone in your corner
We do the work and stay reachable. You always have one named person who knows your business when something comes up.
WORKING WITH US
What it's like to have us in your corner.
1
You can tell us what really happened
Including the part you handled badly. We are here to help, not to grade you, and reaching the point where the old way stops working is normal.
3
We find the way it can work
Owners leave HR providers who only tell them what they cannot do. We start from what you are trying to achieve, then find a fair and legal way to get there. You always leave with a workable next step.
2
If it will sit in a folder, we won't sell it
A 25-person team does not need the HR a 250-person company runs. We build only what your business needs, sized for how you work, and we will tell you when something is not worth doing yet.
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One named person, every time
You speak to the same consultant every time, someone who learns your business and your team over time. Elena does the client work herself, so the conversation starts at the useful part.
WHO IT IS FOR
Built for owner-managed UK businesses without in-house HR.
Usually no HR team, often a first or growing group of employees, and a real wish to be fair and do things properly without turning into a corporate machine. If any of these sound like you, you are exactly who we are here for.
"We've grown past the point where I can keep doing this myself."
Start with an HR Health Check, £395 + VAT, credited against your next step
"I've got a situation with a member of staff and I want to handle it properly."
Start with Employee Relations Support, £750 + VAT per case
"I think our contracts need updating, I just don't know where to start."
Start with an HR Foundations Build, from £1,800 + VAT
"I can't justify a full-time HR person, but I need more than I've got."
Start with a Retained HR Partner, from £150 a month + VAT
WHY WHAT IF HR EXISTS
Someone who knows the terrain, so you are not finding your way alone.
Before HR, our founder Elena worked as a tour guide, helping people find their way somewhere unfamiliar. Then she moved to the UK and became the lost one, learning how everything works here from scratch, the written rules and the unwritten ones.
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Becoming an employer feels a lot like that. You are capable and good at what you do, and still unsure how things work here. That is the whole idea behind What If HR. Calm guidance from someone who has walked this ground before, so you always know where you stand and what to do next.
EMPLOYMENT LAW, JANUARY 2027
What January 2027 changes for your contracts
From January 2027 the qualifying period for unfair dismissal drops from two years to six months under the Employment Rights Act 2025. If your contracts and your probation process were written before that, they were written for a different set of rules. Worth a look while nothing is going wrong, and at that stage it is a small job. An HR Health Check is the usual way to find out where you stand or try our Free Self-Diagnostic.
The same tools we use with clients.
Free to use, no sign-up. Built because clients kept asking the same questions.
20-page self-check against current UK employment law.
What has changed recently, in plain English.
How to write one that attracts the right person and stays legal.
check whether someone qualifies and for how long.
WHERE WE WORK
Local HR support across Surrey, London and the South East.
We are based in Caterham, Surrey, and work with businesses across South London, London, Surrey and the wider South East. Most day-to-day support happens by phone, email and video, so we also work remotely with businesses across the UK. If you would rather meet in person, that can be arranged for clients nearby.
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Whether you are searching for an HR consultant in Surrey, HR support in London, or outsourced HR for a business without an in-house team, you are in the right place.
INSIGHTS
Straight answers to the questions growing businesses ask.
No jargon and no fear. Employment law explained the way you would want it explained at half nine at night.
STRAIGHT ANSWERS