HR consultancy service
Outsourced HR support
An ongoing HR partner for a business with no HR department or a stretched one: a named consultant on call for day to day questions, regular reviews and project work when needed.
What it is
In a business without an HR department, people questions land on whoever is nearest: the owner, the office manager, the accountant. A request for parental leave, a long absence, a pay query, a manager who wants to change someone's hours. Each one takes time to look up and carries a risk if the answer is wrong, and the rules keep moving. According to Citizens Information, 1 January 2026 alone brought both the MyFutureFund automatic enrolment pension scheme and a national minimum wage of €14.15 an hour.
Outsourced HR support gives you an HR function without having to build one in house. You get a named consultant who knows your business and is on call for day to day questions by phone or email, with a clear answer and the reasoning behind it. We hold regular reviews of your contracts, policies, records and upcoming changes in the law, and take on project work when you need it, from a new handbook to a restructure or a difficult disciplinary.
The HR practice is led by a consultant with a master's degree in human resource management. We give HR advice, not legal advice. Scope, fee and timings are agreed in writing before any work starts.
What you get
- A named consultant who learns your business and stays with it
- Phone and email support for day to day people questions, with significant advice confirmed in writing
- A starting review of contracts, policies and records so you know where you stand
- Regular review meetings covering open issues, absence, upcoming leave and changes in the law
- Letters, forms and policy updates drafted for you as situations arise
- Project work when needed, such as a handbook, a restructure or an investigation, scoped separately
Questions
What employers ask us.
General information for Irish employers, checked against official sources in October 2026.
FH Recruitment provides HR advice and practical support. We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. Where a matter needs a solicitor we will tell you, and we are happy to work alongside yours.
Does a small business in Ireland need an HR department?
The Citizens Information guide to employers' obligations does not list any duty to have an HR department. What it does list, as of October 2026, are duties that fall on every employer: written core terms within five days and remaining terms within one month, payslips, records of hours and pay that a Workplace Relations Commission inspector can ask to see, written grievance and disciplinary procedures, a risk assessment and safety statement, and deducting tax and PRSI through payroll. Someone has to own those duties. Outsourced HR support is one way to cover the people side without hiring a full time specialist.
What employment law changes took effect in 2026 that employers should have acted on?
Several, as of October 2026. Citizens Information confirms the national minimum wage rose to €14.15 an hour on 1 January 2026, and that the MyFutureFund automatic enrolment pension scheme began the same day for employees aged 23 to 60 who earn €20,000 or more a year and do not already pay into a pension through payroll, with employers contributing 1.5% of salary in the first three years. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality says employers with over 50 employees must publish a gender pay gap report by the end of November 2026. Statutory sick leave remains five days a year, according to the Department of Social Protection.
Who is responsible for employee data when HR is outsourced?
You are. The Data Protection Commission's guidance says, as of October 2026, that when a controller engages a processor to handle personal data on its behalf, the two must enter into a legally binding contract governing that processing, and the processor may only process the data on the controller's documented instructions. For day to day HR support you remain the controller of your employees' data and we would normally act as your processor. We put a written data processing agreement in place before any personnel file is shared, agree how records are sent and stored, and delete or return them on your instruction when the work ends.
Is outsourced HR advice the same as legal advice?
No. We give HR advice and practical support: how to handle a situation fairly, what your policies and the published codes of practice expect, what to say, what to write down and what to do next. We are not a law firm, so we do not give legal advice. Where a matter is heading to the Workplace Relations Commission or the courts, we prepare you and the paperwork and work alongside your solicitor. We tell you early when something needs a legal opinion, and we never promise an outcome. The aim of ongoing support is to deal with issues well before they reach that point.
How much does outsourced HR cost for a small business?
It depends on the cover you need: how many employees and sites you have, how much day to day contact you expect, how often you want reviews and whether project work is included or scoped separately. We do not quote until we understand that. After the first conversation you receive a written proposal setting out what is covered, response times, review dates, the term and the fee. Scope and fee are agreed in writing before any work starts, and any project outside the agreed scope is agreed in writing before it begins.
Talk it through with an HR consultant.
Tell us what is happening. We will contact you within one working day, and no work starts until you have agreed a written scope and fee.