Services / Employee Relations Support
Whatever has happened, there is a right next step.
Employee relations support for a live staff issue: disciplinary, grievance and more.
Based in Caterham, Surrey, and working across London, the South East and the UK.
A disciplinary, a grievance, an investigation or a letter from Acas. One named consultant helps you get the process right from the first step, starting the same or next working day. You know what it will cost before we start.
Need someone today? Call 07557 982407, Monday to Friday 9 to 5, or email hello@whatifhr.co.uk. We aim to reply within one working day.
From £125 an hour
+ VAT. Formal cases from £650, estimated before we start.
- Start
- Same day or next working day.
- Formal cases
- From £650 + VAT for the first day, then £325 a half day.
- If a claim follows
- We stay with you and deal with Acas, and bring in a vetted tribunal specialist and a solicitor for representation.
Start here
Before you do anything else
The costly mistakes usually happen in the first 48 hours, before anyone has checked the process. Four things to avoid until you have.
What to do in the next hour
- Write down what happened, with dates and who was there, while it is fresh.
- Find the contract, the relevant policy and any emails or messages.
- Book a call before the first meeting or letter, not after.
- Do not invite anyone to a formal meeting before you know the correct process.
- Do not send a letter you have drafted yourself without checking the wording.
- Do not sort it with a "quick chat" before you understand the risk. Informal resolution can be right, but chosen deliberately.
- Do not assume that because the situation feels obvious, the process is straightforward.
What it costs
What is happening? Pick the closest.
Typical time and cost, based on real cases we have handled. You get a written estimate for yours after the first call. All prices + VAT.
A question you need answering today
How to word a warning, whether to extend probation, what to say in a return-to-work meeting, a letter checked before it goes.
- Typical time
- 1 to 4 hours
- Typical cost
- £125 to £500
- How it is charged
- Hourly, £125 an hour
- A call or email advice the same or next working day
- The letter or wording checked or drafted
- What to do next, in writing
A straightforward disciplinary or grievance
One issue, one meeting, one outcome: a first written warning, a grievance about a manager, a probation that is not working out.
- Typical time
- About 1 day
- Typical cost
- From £650
- How it is charged
- One day, the minimum for a formal case
- The process, step by step
- Invitation and outcome letters drafted for you
- The meeting attended by video, with notes
A case with an investigation and an appeal
Witness interviews, an investigation report, the hearing, the outcome and an appeal, for example a short-service dismissal that is appealed.
- Typical time
- 1.5 to 3 days
- Typical cost
- £975 to £1,950
- How it is charged
- Day rate, £650 a day
- Investigation planned or carried out
- Every letter and meeting script
- The appeal handled or heard independently
A complex or long-running case
Several witnesses, a grievance alongside a subject access request, an independent grievance appeal, Acas early conciliation or a letter before claim.
- Typical time
- 3 to 5 days
- Typical cost
- £1,950 to £3,250
- How it is charged
- Day rate, £650 a day
- A written case plan and timeline
- Evidence gathered and organised
- Support alongside a solicitor or tribunal specialist
Long-term sickness and occupational health
An occupational health referral, reading the report, reasonable adjustments and the welfare or capability meetings.
- Typical time
- 3 hours to a day
- Typical cost
- £375 to £650
- How it is charged
- Hourly, never more than the day rate
- The referral written with you
- The report explained: what is reasonable
- Meetings planned and letters drafted
- Up to four hours, by the hour£125 an hour, recorded in 10-minute blocks. Most questions are answered in one to four hours.
- A formal case starts at one day£650 for the first day, then £325 for each extra half day. A day is 7 hours, so it works out cheaper than the hourly rate.
- An estimate first, and no surprisesAfter the first call you get a written estimate. If the case grows, we stop and agree the extra time with you before doing it.
Online meetings are included. Mediation is quoted separately. On a Retained HR Partner plan? Casework on the Outsourced HR team comes out of your monthly hours, from £650 a month.
What you get
Everything you need to handle it properly
One named consultant, the same person from the first call to the outcome.
1. Triage call
A free 20-minute call to establish the facts and the correct process, the same or next working day.
2. Written process guide
Exactly what to do next, step by step, with the dates that matter.
3. Letter templates
Invitations, outcomes and appeals, written for your situation and ready to send.
4. Risk flags
What to watch, what not to say and where the exposure sits.
5. Document review
The contract, the policy and the correspondence, read before anything is decided.
6. Meetings attended
By video with written notes, included. On-site in London and Surrey for £100 a visit.
- 1
Tell us what has happened
A free 20-minute call, or an email if that is quicker. Same or next working day.
- 2
Get a written estimate
What the process is, how long it should take and what it will cost, before any work starts.
- 3
Run it properly
Letters, meetings, notes and decisions, with one named consultant alongside you.
- 4
Close it, and keep the record
A clean file you can stand behind, and a note of anything to fix so it does not happen again.
What If HR provided us with excellent support on a sensitive employee relations matter, handled with care, professionalism and complete discretion. The advice was practical, clear and easy to act on, which gave us confidence in moving forward in the right way.
She responded quickly, explained our options in plain English and helped us resolve the issue informally, without turning it into an expensive or overly complicated HR process.
Real cases, real timings
- A day care businessA short-service dismissal, from the first meeting to an appeal that was later withdrawnAbout 11 hours
- A day care businessA response through Acas early conciliation, with a tribunal specialist brought inAbout 16 hours
- A recruitment businessAn independent grievance appeal, run alongside a subject access requestAbout 25 hours over three weeks
From our own timesheets, 2025 to 2026. Details changed to protect the people involved. Read the day care client story.
If it's bigger than one meeting
Complex cases and mediation
Scoped and agreed with you before anything starts.
Complex cases, £650 + VAT per day
Complex investigations, collective grievances, processes running over several weeks, a grievance alongside a subject access request, and settlement conversations alongside a solicitor. Most take three to five days.
Mediation, quoted separately
Where two people still have to work together, workplace mediation often resolves things faster than a formal process. We work with a qualified independent mediator. It is voluntary and confidential, and not the right route where allegations need investigating.
If a claim arrives
We handle everything up to an Acas early conciliation notification ourselves. If a claim follows and you need to respond to the tribunal, we stay with you. We communicate with Acas for you. A vetted specialist in tribunal work drafts your response and advises you on how to handle it.
And if you need legal representation, we find it through solicitors we refer you to. We do not represent you ourselves, and a settlement agreement is drafted by a solicitor.
Read our guide to Acas early conciliationWhat it costs elsewhere
Compared with calling a solicitor
Employment solicitor, hourlytypically £200 to £400
Legal help with a tribunal claim, employers under 50 stafftypically £4,000
What If HR, by the hour£125
What If HR, a case with an investigation and an appealtypically £975 to £1,950
A solicitor is still the right call once a claim is lodged, and we will tell you when that point comes.
Tribunal figure: the median amount employers with fewer than 50 staff paid for legal advice and representation, from the government's Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications 2018, before any settlement or award.
Who this is for
Business owners and managers handling something live
- You have no in-house HRSomewhere between your first employee and around fifty, with nobody whose job this is.
- Something is happening nowA disciplinary, a grievance, absence or performance, and you need to get the process right.
- You want it handled properlyFair to the person involved, and documented well enough to stand up later.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can't see your question?
Ask us directly. We aim to reply within one working day.
Book a free 20-minute callor email hello@whatifhr.co.uk
How quickly can you start?
Same day or next working day in most cases. Book the call, or ring 07557 982407.
How much will my case cost?
It depends on how much the case needs, so you get a written estimate after the first call. As a guide, a question is usually one to four hours at £125 an hour, a straightforward disciplinary or grievance is about a day (£650), a case with an investigation and an appeal is one and a half to three days, and a complex case three to five days. All + VAT.
Is there a minimum charge?
For a formal case, yes: one day, £650 + VAT, which covers the triage, the process guide, the letters and the first meeting for most straightforward cases. For questions and letter checks, the first hour (£125 + VAT) is paid before we start. After that, time is recorded in 10-minute blocks.
What if it turns out bigger than the estimate?
We stop and tell you before going over, with the reason and the extra time needed. Extra time on a formal case is charged by the half day, £325 + VAT. Nothing is added without your agreement.
What situations does this cover?
Disciplinary and misconduct, grievances, investigations, appeals, performance and capability, sickness absence and occupational health, probation, workplace conflict and early conciliation through Acas.
Can you carry out the investigation or hear the appeal for us?
Yes. An independent investigator or appeal officer is often the fairest route in a small business where everyone knows everyone. We plan it, carry it out and write the findings, charged at the day rate.
We are on a retainer. Is casework included?
On the Outsourced HR team, casework comes out of your monthly hours, with extra hours at £100 each, agreed first. On the Advisory partner plan, advice is included and casework is charged at these rates. See the Retained HR Partner plans.
What if I need a solicitor?
We will say so early rather than late. We handle everything up to an Acas early conciliation notification ourselves. If a claim follows, we stay with you and keep talking to Acas, a vetted tribunal specialist drafts your response and advises you. A solicitor we refer you to represents you if you need it. We do not draft settlement agreements ourselves.
Do you attend meetings in person?
By video as standard, which is quicker to arrange and keeps the cost down. In London and Surrey a site visit is £100 on top of the time; further afield it is agreed in advance.
Good to know
Three things worth knowing before it escalates
Acas early conciliation explained for a small business, the rights that come with each employment status and the duty to prevent sexual harassment.
Once this is resolved
What usually happens next
- Most common next stepHR Health CheckWhether this was a one-off or a wider gap.£395 + VAT, credited against your next step
- A client storyFrom firefighting to embedded HRHow a Surrey day care business moved from HR firefighting to embedded support.
- Ongoing supportRetained HR PartnerIf issues keep coming up, an outsourced HR team handles the casework inside a monthly plan.from £150 a month + VAT
One call, and you will know where you stand
Twenty minutes, no charge. If it turns out you can handle this yourself, we will tell you so, and if not, you will know what it will take and what it will cost.
All prices + VAT. This page is general information, not legal advice. What If HR Ltd. Surrey, London, South East England and remote UK.