HR Support for Office & Professional Services
From hybrid working policies and performance management to employee retention and data protection compliance, we provide practical HR support designed for professional services and office-based businesses.
Book a Free ConsultationWhy Professional Services Firms Need Expert HR
Professional services and office-based businesses face a distinct set of HR challenges. Your people are your product. Whether you run an accountancy practice, a law firm, a marketing agency, a consultancy, or any other knowledge-based business, your ability to attract, develop, and retain talented staff directly determines your commercial success. Losing a key team member to a competitor does not just leave a gap in your headcount. It takes client relationships, institutional knowledge, and months of investment in training and development out of the door with them.
The shift towards hybrid and flexible working has added a new layer of complexity. The Flexible Working Regulations (amended in 2024) now give every employee the right to request flexible working from day one, and employers must handle requests in a reasonable manner. Balancing remote work with office collaboration, maintaining team culture when people work in different locations, and ensuring performance management systems work for hybrid teams are all challenges that most professional services businesses are still working through. Add in GDPR obligations around employee data, the need for clear policies on matters like social media use and confidentiality, and the practical difficulty of managing people who may be working across different time zones, and it becomes clear why professional services firms need robust HR foundations.
At Rebox HR, we work with accountants, solicitors, recruitment agencies, marketing firms, IT consultancies, architects, financial advisers, and other professional services businesses across the Midlands and beyond. We understand that your workplace culture, career progression frameworks, and employment policies need to reflect the expectations of a professional workforce. We help you build contracts and policies that protect your business (including restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses), manage performance and conduct issues sensitively, handle settlement agreements when relationships break down, and create an employment experience that helps you compete for the best people in your market.
HR Challenges in Office & Professional Services
Every sector has its unique HR pressures. Here are the challenges we help office & professional services businesses overcome.
Hybrid and Remote Working Policies
Since the pandemic, most office-based businesses have adopted some form of hybrid working, but many still lack clear policies. Without a formal hybrid working framework, you risk inconsistency between teams, disputes over entitlements, and potential discrimination claims if requests are handled differently depending on the manager. The Flexible Working Regulations require you to handle requests reasonably, consult with the employee, and provide a business reason for any refusal. We help you design hybrid working policies that are fair, consistent, and legally compliant.
Performance Management
Managing performance in professional services requires a structured approach. When an employee is underperforming, you need a clear capability process that documents concerns, sets measurable improvement targets, provides support, and follows a fair procedure before any action is taken. Without this, you risk unfair dismissal claims, especially for employees with two or more years of service. We help you build performance management frameworks, train your managers to have effective performance conversations, and support you through formal capability processes when needed.
Retention and Career Progression
Professional services firms compete intensely for talent, and losing experienced staff to competitors is both expensive and disruptive. The cost of replacing a professional employee, including recruitment fees, onboarding, training, and lost productivity, is typically estimated at 6 to 12 months of their salary. We help you build retention strategies that go beyond pay: structured career progression, meaningful development opportunities, regular stay interviews, flexible benefits, and a workplace culture that keeps your best people engaged.
Contract Compliance and Restrictive Covenants
Professional services businesses often need robust contractual protections, including non-compete clauses, non-solicitation restrictions, confidentiality obligations, and intellectual property assignments. For these clauses to be enforceable, they must be reasonable in scope and duration, and they need to be properly drafted from the outset. We review and draft employment contracts that protect your client relationships and commercial interests while remaining legally enforceable.
Workplace Culture and Conduct
Office-based environments can generate conduct issues ranging from bullying and harassment to social media misuse and breaches of confidentiality. These situations require careful, sensitive handling. A poorly managed grievance or a failure to address harassment can result in tribunal claims, reputational damage, and the loss of other team members who feel the business did not act properly. We support you with investigations, mediation, and formal processes that are fair, confidential, and legally sound.
Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health
Office-based work carries its own wellbeing risks: sedentary lifestyles, screen fatigue, blurred boundaries between work and home life (particularly for hybrid workers), high workloads, and the pressure to be constantly available. Stress, anxiety, and depression are now the leading causes of long-term absence in professional services. Employers have a legal duty to assess and manage psychosocial risks under health and safety legislation. We help you build wellbeing strategies, train managers to recognise early warning signs, put reasonable adjustments in place for staff with mental health conditions, and create a culture where people feel able to raise concerns.
How We Help Office & Professional Services Businesses
We work with professional services firms of all sizes, from boutique practices with a handful of staff to multi-office businesses with teams across the country. We provide practical HR support that helps you attract and keep talented people, manage performance effectively, and handle the employment issues that inevitably arise in any office-based business.
- Draft and review employment contracts, including restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses
- Create comprehensive policies covering hybrid working, social media, data protection, and conduct
- Build absence management frameworks suited to office-based teams
- Negotiate and draft settlement agreements when employment relationships break down
- Conduct exit interviews to identify retention risks and improve your employment offer
- Implement HR software for holiday tracking, appraisals, and document management
- Carry out an HR health check to identify compliance gaps and improvement areas
- Provide mediation services to resolve workplace disputes before they escalate
Key Regulations We Help You Navigate
Staying compliant in the office & professional services sector means understanding industry-specific legislation. We keep you up to date and protected.
Employment Rights Act 1996
The foundation of individual employment law in the UK. Covers unfair dismissal protection (after two years of qualifying service), the right to a written statement of employment particulars from day one, notice periods, redundancy rights, and protection against detriment for exercising statutory rights. Relevant to every professional services business employing staff.
Equality Act 2010
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Applies to recruitment, pay, promotion, training, and dismissal. Professional services firms must also be aware of equal pay obligations and the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.
Data Protection Act 2018 / UK GDPR
Governs how you collect, store, use, and share personal data, including employee data. Employers must have lawful bases for processing staff data, provide privacy notices, respond to subject access requests within one month, and implement appropriate security measures. Particularly relevant for professional services firms handling sensitive client and employee information.
Flexible Working Regulations (as amended 2024)
From April 2024, all employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment (previously required 26 weeks of service). Employers must deal with requests in a reasonable manner, consult with the employee before refusing, and respond within two months. Employees can make two requests per year. Refusals must be based on one of the eight permitted business grounds.
How It Works
Assess
We start with a detailed review of your current HR setup: contracts, policies, handbook, and any live issues. We identify compliance gaps, areas of risk, and opportunities to strengthen your people management approach.
Support
We put the right frameworks in place: updated contracts, clear policies, performance management processes, and practical manager training. If you have urgent issues like a grievance, a restructure, or a settlement agreement, we handle those alongside the longer-term work.
Sustain
Your dedicated HR consultant becomes an extension of your leadership team, available for day-to-day queries, formal processes, and strategic people planning. We help you build a workplace that attracts and retains the talent your business depends on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work with small professional services firms or only larger businesses?
We work with professional services businesses of all sizes. Some of our clients are two- or three-person consultancies, others have teams of 50 or more across multiple offices. The HR challenges are often similar regardless of size: you need compliant contracts, clear policies, a fair approach to performance management, and someone to call when a difficult situation arises. Smaller firms rarely have the budget for an in-house HR function, which makes outsourced support particularly valuable.
Can you help us draft a hybrid working policy?
Yes. We help professional services firms design hybrid working policies that are clear, fair, and legally compliant. A good policy covers eligibility, the balance between office and remote days, expectations around availability and communication, equipment and expenses, data security when working remotely, and how to handle requests under the Flexible Working Regulations. We tailor the policy to your business rather than using a generic template, because what works for a four-person consultancy is very different from what works for a 40-person accountancy practice.
How do you handle performance management issues?
We support you through the full performance management process. If an employee is underperforming, we help you set up an informal improvement plan first, with clear objectives and a reasonable timeframe. If informal measures do not resolve the issue, we guide you through the formal capability process: letters, meetings, documentation, and appropriate outcomes at each stage. We also attend meetings with you if needed, prepare scripts and guidance for managers, and ensure the process follows the Acas Code of Practice so it would stand up if challenged at tribunal.
What should our employment contracts include for professional staff?
Beyond the statutory minimum requirements (which expanded in April 2020), professional services contracts should cover: detailed job descriptions and reporting lines, probationary period terms, notice periods appropriate to seniority, restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicitation, non-dealing) that are reasonable and enforceable, confidentiality obligations, intellectual property assignments, provisions for hybrid or flexible working, and bonus or commission structures if applicable. We draft bespoke contracts that protect your business while remaining fair and legally sound.
Can you help with settlement agreements?
Yes. Settlement agreements are commonly used in professional services when an employment relationship has broken down and both parties want a clean exit. We advise on the terms, draft the agreement, manage the negotiation process, and ensure the employee receives independent legal advice as required by law. A well-handled settlement agreement avoids the cost, disruption, and reputational risk of a tribunal claim. We have a dedicated settlement agreements service with more detail on how the process works.
How do you charge for your services?
We offer flexible pricing to suit different businesses. Most of our professional services clients choose retained HR support, which gives you a dedicated consultant, unlimited phone and email advice, and a set number of included hours each month for a fixed fee. For one-off projects like a contract review, a restructure, or a settlement agreement, we can agree a fixed project fee upfront. We also offer pay-as-you-go support if you just need occasional help. Your initial consultation is always free and there is no obligation.
“We outsource all our HR to Rebox. They have been instrumental in helping us navigate the complexities of employment law and keeping our business protected.”
Relevant Services for Office & Professional Services
Retained HR Support
Ongoing expert HR support with a fixed monthly fee. Your dedicated consultant learns your business, your team, and your culture so they can provide advice that fits from day one.
Learn more →HR Software Solutions
Breathe HR cloud platform for managing holidays, appraisals, document storage, and employee records. Perfect for professional services firms that want to streamline their people administration.
Learn more →Ad-Hoc HR Services
Pay-as-you-go HR support for professional services businesses that need expert guidance without a retainer commitment. Ideal for one-off projects or occasional advice.
Learn more →Ready to Strengthen Your People Management?
Whether you need updated contracts, a hybrid working policy, or ongoing HR support for your professional services business, we are here to help. Book a free consultation and let us show you how we work.
Book Your Free ConsultationOr call: 01327 640070