A subscription HR service or a consultant who knows your name?

The short answer. A subscription HR service sells you access: an advice line, template documents, HR software and often insurance, usually on a fixed-term contract. An HR consultant gives you a person: one named consultant who learns your business, drafts the letters and sits in the meetings, usually with a shorter commitment. If you want advice at 2am or insurance against tribunal awards, a subscription service is built for that. If you want the same person every time and a contract you can leave, a consultant is. Before you sign either, ask who answers the phone, how the contract renews and how the price can change.

Have you just had the call? A friendly voice and a price that sounds reasonable per month. And a contract that can run for longer than you have had most of your staff.

Nobody signs that on a good day. It usually happens on the bad one, when someone has gone off sick and will not answer the phone and you are on Google at half nine at night.

Both models have their place. Here is how to tell which one fits your business, and whether you need either yet.

What a subscription HR service gives you

The large national providers sell a package. The details differ, but the shape is similar:

• an advice line, often open 24 hours a day
• employment contracts and a staff handbook
• HR software for holiday, absence and staff records
• health and safety alongside HR, from the same supplier
• often, legal expenses insurance that can pay tribunal awards and legal costs

That is a real offer, and for some businesses it is the right one. If you run night shifts and decisions cannot wait until 9am, the 24-hour line matters. If insurance against a tribunal award is what helps you sleep, a consultant cannot sell you that.

What it can cost you, beyond the monthly fee

Prices are rarely on the page. On 30 September 2026 we checked four large national providers. None of them published prices on their websites. You get a figure after a call.

The bigger question is the contract. One large provider publishes its terms, and they say:

• contracts are "typically three years or longer"
• the contract renews automatically for the same length unless you give written notice at least six months before it ends
• from the first anniversary, the fee rises once a year by the greater of 3% or the Retail Prices Index
• if both sides agree to end it early, there is a final invoice for 75% of the charges left for the rest of the contract

Two of the others do not publish their service terms on their websites, so ask for them in writing before you sign. Our side-by-side pages set out what each provider publishes and link to the source: What If HR or Peninsula, What If HR or Citation and What If HR or WorkNest.

What a consultant gives you

One person who learns your business. The same consultant every time, who already knows your team, your rota and the manager who avoids difficult conversations.

The difference you feel most is the work itself. An advice line tells you what to do. A consultant can do it with you: draft the letter, plan the meeting, sit in it, write the contract that matches how your people work and answer your staff's HR questions if you want that off your desk.

The limits are real too, so here are ours. We work Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, not at 2am. We are HR specialists, not an insurer or a law firm, so there is no insurance policy behind our advice, and we tell you when you need a solicitor.

And the terms. Our prices are on the website, from £150 a month + VAT, priced by team size. Every plan starts with a three-month trial and no exit fee. After it, Advisory runs month to month with one month's notice, and the Outsourced HR team runs for 6 or 12 months. Your fee is fixed in your written specification, and our terms have no automatic yearly rise.

Which one fits

A subscription service fits when:

• your business runs outside office hours and HR questions cannot wait until the morning
• you want insurance that can pay tribunal awards and legal costs
• you want HR, health and safety and software from one supplier, and you are happy with a multi-year contract for it

A consultant fits when:

• you want the same person every time, who knows your team
• you want help doing the work, not only advice on the phone
• you want to see the price before the first call and keep the freedom to leave

And sometimes the answer is neither, yet. If you have three people and one HR question a year, a monthly fee of any kind is more than you need. Pay as you go at £125 an hour covers the question when it comes. We would rather tell you that than sell you a plan you forget you are paying for.

Five questions to ask before you sign anything

1. Who answers when I call: a named person, or the next available adviser?
2. How long is the contract, how does it renew and how much notice do I give?
3. How and when can the price change?
4. What happens if I want to leave early?
5. If there is insurance, what does it cover, and what do I have to do to keep it valid?

Get the answers in writing. Any provider worth signing with will give them to you, us included.

If you want to talk it through, book a free 20-minute call. Bring the quote you have been sent if you have one. We will tell you which kind of support fits your business, including when the answer is to stay where you are.

What if the right HR support is one person who knows your name, and a contract you can walk away from?

Send us your what-ifs.