HR Operations

With increased National Minimum and Living Wage Costs and increased employer NI contributions, plus all the other rising costs for businesses, hiring a dedicated HR resource via PAYE can feel like an unnecessary expense to small businesses. However, alongside the rising costs there are is also the issue of increased employee protections and worker legislation, meaning that it is imperative that employers follow the correct processes with their employees, from hiring through to exit.

Saltwater HR are experts in providing HR administrative support and can handle any project, to ensure that as a business owner, you can get on with your business with peace of mind.

Struggling to keep up with daily HR tasks? Our virtual HR administration service handles the paperwork so you can focus on growing your business.

We provide flexible support for all your day-to-day HR needs - from onboarding new starters and managing employee queries to monitoring HR inboxes and maintaining HR systems. Whether you need ad-hoc assistance with specific projects or regular weekly support to stay on top of employee paperwork, we've got you covered.

Perfect for small businesses who want professional HR administration without the overhead of a full-time HR person. Let us handle the admin while you handle the business.

Virtual HR Administration

Documentation

With a full suite of up-to-date HR documentation, we can provide you with whatever paperwork you need for your employees.  Our documents are legally compliant and updated whenever necessitated by law changes. 

Whether you are looking for a Company Handbook, a policy to cover a particular situation, offer paperwork or letters relating to any aspect of the employee life-cycle, we will have something suitable in our document library. 

We can provide you with templates for you to populate yourself, or we can manage your administration for you.

HR Information Systems Implementation and Management

With experience in many different HRIS and Customer Relationship Management systems, we are able to support your business to manage your personnel records. We can work with your existing system if you have one, or if you need a new database we can recommend one via our partners. We can manage the implementation and then either hand it over to you to manage, or we can maintain the system as a fully managed service.

We are pleased to have partnered with Breathe HR, a cloud based self-service employee database. For more information on our Breathe partnership offering, please contact us.

Whatever your HRIS needs, talk to us about how we can help. 

Projects

We run neat, time-boxed projects that remove noise, fix foundations, and leave you with clear ownership. Typical engagements include:

• HRIS, ATS and payroll change

• Salary benchmarking and pay structure

• Policies, handbooks and contracts

• Performance and feedback frameworks

• Recruitment process and employer brand

• Compliance, audits and QMS

• Organisation change

• Onboarding and lifecycle automation

• Manager toolkits and training

• HRIS, ATS and payroll change

• Project rescue and turnaround

• Data clean-up

Keeping up with ever-changing employment legislation and case law is challenging for small businesses. Even experienced business owners encounter employee situations they're unsure how to handle - and getting it wrong can be costly.

Our employment law advisory service provides practical, commercially-focused support for all your employee queries. Whether you need help calculating part-time holiday entitlement, understanding benefit obligations during maternity leave, managing sickness absence, or navigating complex pay matters, we're here to help.

Simply call or email us whenever you need guidance. We stay current with all employment law updates and case law, so you can make confident decisions that keep your business compliant and protected.

Professional indemnity insurance and legal support included for complete peace of mind.

Employment Law Advisory Support

No HR team? No problem. The Saltwater Framework is our signature programme that gives you everything you need to build a solid HR foundation.

Designed for growing startups and small businesses, this is a step-by-step programme that builds your HR function from the ground up. We embed the tools, processes, and people you need to confidently manage your team and scale with ease. We take care of all the essentials, from compliant contracts, handbooks and policies, to implementation and management of an employee database, setting up your HR processes, managing employee relations, and supporting recruitment.

Whether you’re hiring your first employees or preparing to scale, the Saltwater Framework gives you everything you need to confidently manage your team, reduce risk, and build a culture that supports success. By the end of the programme, you’ll have a complete, embedded HR setup, ready for handover to a dedicated HR function, or continued support from us.

The Saltwater Framework

Our Engaged Services

At Saltwater HR we understand that every business is different. Whether you're hiring your first employee or managing a growing team, our Engaged Services give you the support you need when you need it.

We offer flexible monthly packages tailored to businesses of all sizes, ensuring you stay compliant, reduce risk, and get expert advice you can trust, all without the cost of an in-house HR team.

Saltwater Essentials

For small employers who want peace of mind that they’re compliant and can get quick, expert answers whenever they need them.

Perfect for: Startups and small teams who need compliant, dependable HR guidance without the overhead.

Saltwater Core

For growing teams who want hands-on help setting up proper HR foundations.

Perfect for: Small businesses experiencing growth and needing a more hands-on HR partner.

For small but established teams who want HR fully managed - advice, admin, and ongoing support in one place.

Perfect for: Established businesses managing larger teams and more complex HR demands. 

Saltwater Partner

Includes:

• Unlimited HR advice by phone or email (for one named contact)

• Access to Saltwater HR letter and policy templates

• Annual HR health-check (review of contracts, policies, procedures)

• Guidance on everyday issues (holiday, sickness, probation, discipline)

• 10% discount on any projects or recruitment

• Response within 2 working days

You handle your own documents and admin - we’re here when you need us for advice and reassurance.

Includes everything in Essentials, plus:

• Breathe HR setup and basic configuration

• Bespoke employment contract and Employee Handbook

• Up to 4 hours/month of HR administration or document work (letters, new-starter packs, record updates)

• Advice and guidance on people issues (performance, conduct, absence)

• 15% discount on project or recruitment work

• Response within 1 working day

We still provide unlimited advice but now we’ll also take on light HR admin so you can focus on running your business.

Includes everything in Core, plus:

• Ongoing Breathe HR management (reminders, reports, data checks)

• Up to 10 hours/month of HR administration (contracts, leavers, letters, onboarding/offboarding)

• Monthly HR check-in meeting (30–60 mins)

• Support with engagement, retention and pay reviews

• 20% discount on projects and recruitment

• Priority response

Unlimited advice, managed systems and done-for-you HR - your outsourced HR department for up to 20 employees.

Additional Services available separately:

• Complex law cases and ongoing case management

• Bespoke policy creation beyond standard templates

• Training delivery

• Internal audits (eg, pre-ISO)