Recruitment support for growing UK businesses hiring without in-house HR.
Based in Caterham, Surrey, and working across London, the South East and the UK.
Most hiring goes one of two ways. You pay a recruitment agency 15% to 30% of salary, or you do it yourself at 11pm with a free job board and an inbox you cannot keep on top of. This is the third option. The advert, the system and as much of the hiring as you want handled for you, by one named person who also knows your contracts and your team.
From £195 + VAT
Three fixed-fee options · no percentage of anyone's salary
You are hiring, and you want the right person without the agency bill.
"I could do this myself if I had the time and a proper system. I just don't, and the agency quote made me wince."
We write the advert so the right people apply, set you up with a proper applicant tracking system under your own brand and handle as much or as little of the shortlisting and interviewing as you want. The person you hire is then the person we help you contract, onboard and keep.
The two usual routes
An agency will find someone, for a fee that often does not match the role.
Doing it alone means a free job board, 120 applicants, 95 of them wrong and no system to keep track of any of it.
This sits in the middle.
The options
Three ways in, depending on how much you want to keep.
Start where you are. You can move up a level on the next hire, or hand the whole thing over from day one. All prices + VAT.
Advert Clinic
£195 + VAT
The advert that brings in the right people, not just more people.
For when you are happy to run the hire yourself, but your advert keeps pulling in the wrong applicants.
A short call or questionnaire about the role
A job advert written on our evidence-based framework: what the role is for, the day to day, what good looks like, the kind of person who fits
A language check that flags wording shown to narrow your applicant pool before anyone applies
Up to three values-based application questions that filter before interview
Delivered in two working days
Best for a first-time employer or a founder who wants a sharper advert and will take it from there.
Hiring Setup
£495 + VAT
Your own hiring system, set up and ready, with the first role live.
For when you want to run your own shortlisting but need a proper system and an advert that works.
A branded careers page and applicant tracking system set up and embedded on your website
Your first role written and posted to Adzuna, GOV.UK and any paid job boards you pick (paid extra)
Pre-screening questions and a GDPR-compliant application form
Hiring-manager access so you and your team shortlist and interview inside the system
A 30-minute walkthrough so you know how to use it
Includes year one of the system. After that it is £50 + VAT a month or £600 + VAT a year, on its own or as part of a Retained HR Partner plan. Bought directly, the same system costs around £2,450 a year. Extra roles posted for you at £85 + VAT each.
Best for a growing business making a few hires a year that wants control and a system, without an agency.
Managed Hire
From £1,500 + VAT
We run the whole thing, from advert to offer. Fixed fee per hire, no percentage of salary.
For when you want the hire handled and your time back.
Everything in Hiring Setup
Sourcing and posting, plus screening and shortlisting against an agreed brief
Interview scheduling and a structured scorecard so decisions are consistent
Feedback to candidates and the offer
A clean handover into the contract and onboarding
From £1,500 for most roles, up to around £2,500 for senior or harder-to-fill positions. An agency on a £40,000 hire at 20% is £8,000.
Best for a founder or operator who would rather hand the hire over and keep the contract, onboarding and relationship in-house.
What sits outside this
Senior or specialist executive search. We can refer you to a trusted recruitment partner and stay alongside you while they run it.
The employment contract and policies for the person you hire. That is First Hire Ready or HR Foundations Build, and a Managed Hire flows straight into it.
Most clients who hire more than once a year end up on a Retained HR Partner, with hiring, onboarding and day-to-day HR all under one roof and the recruitment portal at £50 a month.
Employment law context
Why getting the hire right matters more now
The Employment Rights Act 2025 cuts the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months (the start date is on our employment law changes page). It is not a reason to hire scared. It does mean the cost of a wrong hire goes up, because you have less time before someone is protected, so a clear advert, honest screening and a probation period you run properly are worth more than they were.
See how your hiring system works, in three minutes.
The applicant tracking system is the engine behind Hiring Setup and Managed Hire. This short video walks through it. We set it up under your brand, so you never have to learn it cold.
Official partner
Why we work with Hireful
We are an official Hireful partner. That gives your business proper hiring technology, the kind larger companies use, without the enterprise price tag. You also get discounted job-board postings when you want to pay for reach, and professional agency backup for the roles that need it. We handle the setup and stay alongside you.
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Everything in one place. Track applicants, schedule interviews and keep feedback together, instead of spread across your inbox and a spreadsheet.
GDPR handled properly. Applications and messages are stored the right way, so you are not holding people's CVs in a way that creates risk.
A careers page that looks like you. It links to your website and carries your brand through every step, so candidates get a professional first impression.
Your managers kept in the loop. Assign a hiring manager to a role and they get updates as it moves, without you chasing.
Post once, reach further. Send a role to several job boards from one place, with discounted paid postings when you want more reach.
The system is set up and supported as part of Hiring Setup and Managed Hire. See the three options above for pricing.
What you end up with
The right person, hired properly and set up to stay.
No agency percentage. No inbox of mismatched CVs. No advert that shrank your shortlist before you read a single application.
A clear advert, a system that does the admin and a hire that connects straight to the contract and the onboarding. The people who apply are the people who can picture themselves in the role, and the one you choose starts the job properly.
An agency sources candidates and charges a percentage of salary, usually 15% to 30%, then steps away once the person starts. We work on a fixed fee, set you up with your own system you keep using and the hire flows straight into the contract, onboarding and ongoing support. For senior or specialist roles where an agency genuinely fits, we can refer you to our trusted partner and stay alongside you.
Do I have to use the full Managed Hire, or can I just get the advert?
You can start with the Advert Clinic at £195 and run the hire yourself. Plenty of owners do exactly that, then move up to Hiring Setup or Managed Hire on the next role once they have seen the difference.
What is the applicant tracking system, and is it complicated?
It is a professional system that gives you a branded careers page, an application form on your own website and a single place to see and manage every applicant. We set it up and walk you through it. You do not need to be technical and your team can be given access to shortlist and interview inside it.
Can you write the contract for whoever I hire?
Yes. That is First Hire Ready for a first employee, or HR Foundations Build for a growing team, and a Managed Hire hands over straight into it. You get the right person and the paperwork in one join-up, instead of two disconnected jobs.
We hire a few times a year. Is there a better way than paying per hire?
Yes. A Retained HR Partner can include your hiring alongside contracts, onboarding and day-to-day HR, so the system and the support sit under one monthly fee. We will show you the maths on a call.
Do you only work with businesses in Surrey and London?
We are based in Surrey and work across South London, London and the South East, and remotely with businesses across the UK.
Good to know
Before you write the advert
A free guide to writing it, the rights that come with each kind of hire and the documents your new starter must have.
