The people stuff, sorted.
Proper, ready-to-use HR templates, contracts, handbooks, the lot, written in plain English for actual humans running actual businesses, and ready to download today without the lawyer's day rate or the corporate ‘red tape’.
Sound familiar?
You started a company to build something, not to become its accidental HR department. But somewhere around the fourth or fifth hire, that's quietly what happened, and nobody handed you a manual on the way in.
So now there's that low hum of doubt in the background. Does the contract you cobbled together actually hold up? Are you allowed to do the thing you're about to do? Is "we'll deal with the paperwork later" going to come back and bite you at the worst possible moment?
That feeling is normal, and it's worth listening to, because the stuff it's nagging you about tends to get expensive when it goes wrong.
What getting it wrong actually costs
The part nobody mentions while you're heads-down building the business is how pricey the people side gets when it goes sideways. Defending a single tribunal claim, even a straightforward one you end up winning, usually runs somewhere between £6,000 and £8,000 in legal fees, and because tribunals are each-side-pays, you won't get a penny of that back even when you're completely in the right.
On top of that, the average unfair dismissal payout last year was £13,749, and discrimination claims aren't capped at all, so the number can climb a fair way further.
And it's heading the wrong way for employers: from January 2027, people will be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim after six months in the job rather than the two years it takes now, and the compensation cap is being scrapped altogether. A solid contract and a clear, fair process is really what stands between you and a very bad few months, and you'd far rather sort that on your own terms than on a tribunal's.
So here's the easy version
Three packs, each built for a different stage of growing a team. Everything's in plain English, fully editable, sound under UK law, and written for real companies rather than beige policy robots. Have a look at where you fit:
| Level 1 The Basics, Done Right £1,000 | Level 2 The Good Stuff £1,350 Most popular | Level 3 Properly Built £2,250 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core contract templates | |||
| Simple starter handbook | |||
| Onboarding checklist | |||
| Performance review basics | |||
| Hiring toolkit | |||
| Advanced handbook, tailored to your culture | |||
| Progression framework + job levels | |||
| Wellbeing check-in + pulse survey | |||
| Personalised + a briefing call with Emma |
The Basics, Done Right
£1,000
- Core contract templates
- Simple starter handbook
- Onboarding checklist
The Good Stuff
£1,350
- Core contract templates
- Simple starter handbook
- Onboarding checklist
- Performance review basics
- Hiring toolkit
Properly Built
£2,250
- Core contract templates
- Simple starter handbook
- Onboarding checklist
- Performance review basics
- Hiring toolkit
- Advanced handbook, tailored to your culture
- Progression framework + job levels
- Wellbeing check-in + pulse survey
- Personalised + a briefing call with Emma
Why it's a genuine bargain (yes, really)
If your first thought is "that's a grand-plus," that's fair, so it's worth seeing what it actually replaces.
A single contract drafted by a solicitor tends to cost between £750 and £1,000, and every policy for the handbook you add is another £250 to £500 on top, which means building even the basics the bespoke way leaves you north of £1,500 before you've had a scrap of advice to go with it.
Now set that against the £6,000-plus it costs just to defend a tribunal claim, win or lose, it starts looking like a no brainer fairly quickly.
Right then…
Whatever stage you're at, the people side really shouldn't be the thing keeping you awake. Grab the pack that fits, put the templates to work, and get back to the business you actually set out to build.
