Services / Retained HR Partner

What if the next people problem landed on someone who already knows your team?

Retained HR support: a named outsourced HR partner, month to month.

Based in Caterham, Surrey, and working across London, the South East and the UK.

A named HR partner who knows your business, your team and your documents. Choose expert advice for your managers, or an outsourced HR team your staff can come to directly. One fixed monthly fee, sized to your team.

Rated 5.0 from 30+ Google reviews. More than 30 businesses helped since 2020.

From £150 a month

+ VAT, priced by team size.

Advisory partner
Advice for owners and managers, from £150.
Outsourced HR team
Your staff's HR, inbox and all, from £695.
Try it first
Ask about a trial on your call.
Build your plan

Sound familiar?

  • "I am the HR department, and I was never trained for it."
  • "Every manager handles sickness and lateness differently."
  • "I only find out something is wrong when it is already a problem."
  • "I call an advice line and get a stranger reading a script."

Two ways to work with us

Advice for your managers, or an HR team for everyone

Both come with one named consultant, law changes flagged, regular check-ins and online meetings at no extra cost. The difference is who can contact us and who does the work.

Advisory partner

From £150 a month + VAT

Expert advice for the people who run your team.

Who can contact us

Owners and managersYour consultant

  • Phone and email advice for owners, directors and key managers, on a fair-usage basis (teams under 5: up to about two hours a month)
  • Templates on request, ready for you to complete
  • Law changes flagged, with what they mean for you
  • A monthly check-in (quarterly for teams under 5)

Best when your managers can run HR day to day and want an expert to check with. Drafting, training and casework are quoted before any work starts.

Outsourced HR team

From £695 a month + VAT

Your HR department, embedded in your business.

Who can contact us

Your whole teamYour HR inboxYour consultant

  • Your staff contact us as their HR
  • We manage your HR inbox and reply from it
  • Offer letters, onboarding, contracts and policies done for you
  • Absence, occupational health referrals and cases run with your managers

Best when nobody has time for HR and people need somewhere to go. Set hours each month by team size, extra hours £110 each, agreed first.

Build your plan

Your team, your plan, your price

Three choices and you have a monthly price. All prices + VAT.

1How would you like to work?
2How many people do you employ?

More than 50 people? Get a bespoke quote after a 30-minute call.

3Anything to add?

Training and coaching

Systems

Specialist support

Your plan, a month + VAT

£450

£5,400 a year

  • Advisory partner£450

Want to try it first? Ask about a trial on your call. Its length and price are set out in your plan confirmation.

Book a free 20-minute callAlready sure? Book a 30-minute retainer call

Online meetings included. On-site visits £100 each in London and Surrey, further afield agreed first. More than 50 people? We will quote on the call.

See all prices at a glance
Team sizeAdvisory partnerOutsourced HR team
Under 5£150 a monthNot offered
5 to 10£295 a month£695 a month, up to 6 hours
11 to 25£450 a month£1,095 a month, up to 10 hours
26 to 50£650 a month£1,650 a month, up to 15 hours

All prices + VAT. Outsourced HR team prices are for a 12-month term. On a 6-month term they are £765 (5 to 10 staff), £1,205 (11 to 25) and £1,815 (26 to 50) a month. Outsourced extra hours £110 each, agreed first. Prefer no monthly fee? Pay as you go from £135 an hour.

Low risk to start

Your first 90 days

  1. Week 1

    Getting to know you

    A call about your team, your history and what keeps landing on your desk. We read your contracts, handbook and policies.

  2. Week 2

    Your priorities

    A short written list: what needs fixing first, what can wait and what is already fine.

  3. Weeks 3 to 12

    The rhythm

    The urgent gaps closed, check-ins in the diary and a named partner on call for whatever lands.

  4. Month 3

    Your review

    We look back together and agree what comes next.

5.0From 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.
Director, accountancy practice · Google review · Read it on Google
Client story: a retained clientA Surrey day care business, eight months onTwo HR providers had already let them down. Now the HR inbox is answered, contracts match how people really work and managers have somewhere to go before a problem escalates.Read the story

What it costs, compared to the alternatives

  • vs hiring in-house

    An in-house HR Manager's salary alone is typically £45,000 to £70,000 a year, before employer NI and pension.

    An Outsourced HR team for 26 to 50 people: £19,800 a year.

  • vs doing nothing

    In the government's last survey of tribunal claims, small employers paid a typical £4,000 for legal help, before any settlement or award.

    A year of Advisory partner for 5 to 10 people: £3,540.

  • vs an advice line

    Advice lines sell volume and call-centre access. Here you get a named consultant who built your documents and knows your team when you call.

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.

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 call

or email hello@whatifhr.co.uk

What happens on the 30-minute retainer call?

We talk about your team, what keeps landing on your desk and how you handle HR now. You leave knowing which way of working fits, what the first three months would look like and the price. No obligation.

What is the difference between Advisory partner and Outsourced HR team?

Advisory partner is expert advice for owners, directors and key managers by phone and email, with templates on request. Your staff do not contact us, and drafting, training and casework are quoted separately. For teams under 5 it is £150 a month, with up to about two hours of advice a month on a fair-usage basis. Outsourced HR team makes us your HR department: your staff contact us directly, we manage your HR inbox and we do the work, from offer letters and onboarding to absence and cases, within set hours each month.

What happens if we need more hours than our plan includes?

On the Outsourced HR team, extra hours are £110 each and agreed with you first. If you regularly need more, we look at your plan together at the check-in. On Advisory, advice is fair usage (up to about two hours a month for teams under 5), and if you regularly need more we suggest the plan that fits. Anything beyond advice is quoted before it starts, or you can use pay as you go at £135 an hour.

What is not included?

Bigger projects are quoted separately before any work begins: TUPE, redundancy programmes, tribunal preparation and a new staff handbook build (see HR Foundations Build or HR Backbone Programme). Nothing unexpected.

Do you come on-site?

Yes, when the work needs someone in the room. Visits are £100 each in London and Surrey. Further afield, including any overnight stay, is agreed with you in advance. Online meetings are always included.

What's the minimum commitment?

Advisory runs month to month, with no minimum term. Give notice at any time and the plan ends at the end of the following month. The Outsourced HR team runs for 6 or 12 months. The Outsourced prices shown are for a 12-month term. On a 6-month term they are £765 (5 to 10 staff), £1,205 (11 to 25) and £1,815 (26 to 50) a month. The online training library is added on plans of 12 months or more.

Can we have the recruitment portal without a retainer?

Yes. The portal, with your own careers page, automatic replies and interview booking, is £50 + VAT a month or £600 + VAT a year through us, on a retainer or after the first year included in Hiring Setup. Bought directly, the same system costs around £2,450 a year.

Can we change plans as our team grows?

Yes. We look at your plan at your check-in and adjust from the next month. We do not backdate charges.

We don't have a handbook or proper contracts yet. Can we still start?

Yes. We review your existing documents in the first two weeks. If they need rebuilding, we advise on the best approach, which may mean an HR Foundations Build or HR Backbone Programme alongside the retainer.

Good to know

Worth knowing, whichever plan you choose

Subscription service or consultant, and what HR support should really cost.

Read the blog

One person. One fee. HR sorted.

A free call to talk through your team and what keeps landing on your desk. You leave knowing which plan fits and what it costs. No obligation.

Or call 07557 982407

All prices + VAT. What If HR Ltd. Surrey, London, South East England and remote UK.