The Beagle HR Compliance Programme is a six-month, four-phase HR setup for UK small and medium businesses, priced on your team size. It puts a full compliance audit, new contracts and a handbook, an HR system and a manager toolkit in place, delivered by Dan Caruso and the Beagle HR team across Surrey. When the six months are done, it rolls into a lighter ongoing retainer with no lock-in.
Built for ambitious SMEs putting HR foundations in place.
If you are scaling, you have just acquired a business, or your HR has grown up in a series of Word documents and email threads, the Compliance Programme is for you. Six months. Four phases. One fixed monthly fee. No surprises.
Post-acquisition businesses
You just bought a business and the HR you inherited is a Word document from 2018. We rebuild it properly, and make sure the people stay through transition.
Trades and construction
Plumbers, electricians, builders, fit-out firms. Mixed direct-employed and sub-contractor workforces. Vehicle policies, lone working, on-site health and safety templates, built in.
Scaling SMEs
Hit 10 or 15 employees and realised the HR is held together with goodwill. We give you a platform that survives the next 30 hires.
What we build in six months.
Each phase ends with a defined set of outputs and a sign-off before we move on. No phase-creep. No surprise extras.
PHASE 1 · MONTH 1
Audit, compliance & foundations
Right-to-Work checks for every employee, full audit of existing contracts and policies, gap analysis against the Employment Rights Act 2025, and a discovery session on what kind of employer you actually want to be. You finish Month 1 with a written risk register and an agreed roadmap.
PHASE 2 · MONTHS 2 to 3
Contracts, handbook & policies
New contracts of employment tailored to every role. Full handbook rewrite aligned to the Employment Rights Act 2025. The core policy suite: disciplinary, grievance, absence, holiday, family leave, equality, data protection, vehicle use, lone working. Issued and signed.
PHASE 3 · MONTHS 3 to 4
HR system implementation
Breathe HR (or alternative HRIS) configured, branded, and loaded with every employee record, contract and policy. Digital onboarding and offboarding workflows. Holiday and absence routing. Health and safety module set up for trades and construction clients. Training delivered for you and your managers.
PHASE 4 · MONTHS 5 to 6
Manager toolkit & handover
Probation framework, light-touch performance reviews, recruitment toolkit (job adverts, interview scripts, scoring sheets, offer letters), and a manager guidance pack for absence, conduct and capability conversations. Closing review and recommendations for ongoing support.
What it costs.
One fixed monthly fee for six months. No day rates. No phase-creep. We price on your team size, so the fee fits your business, and we agree the exact figure on a free 15-minute review before you commit to anything.
HOW PRICING WORKS
Priced on your team size
One fixed monthly fee for the six-month setup. Predictable cash flow, one invoice a month.
Then it steps down to a lighter ongoing retainer, billed monthly, that you can leave whenever you like.
Scoped and quoted on a free 15-minute review. No obligation. Fees exclude VAT, and any HR software subscription is paid by you directly.
Your fee drops once you are set up.
The Programme is the heavy-lifting phase, so it carries the higher fee. Once your foundations are in place you need less of us, so you move to a lighter monthly retainer. We are not here to bill you the same forever. We are here to get you sorted, then keep you right.
Common questions.
Programme FAQ
What does the Programme cost?
We price on your team size, not a fixed one-size package, so the fee fits your business. You get one fixed monthly fee for the six-month setup, then a lighter ongoing retainer after that. We scope and quote the exact figure on a free 15-minute review, with no obligation.
Why six months and not three?
Three months is enough to write contracts and a handbook. Six months is what it takes to also implement an HRIS, train your managers, and let new processes bed in. You can fix paperwork in three months. You cannot change how a business is run in three. Six is honest.
Do you take every business on?
No. We work with a limited number of Surrey businesses at a time, so every programme gets the attention it needs. The free review is where we both check it is a good fit before anyone commits.
Does the fee include the HR software?
No. The Programme fee covers our work. Breathe HR (the platform we usually recommend) is a separate subscription, typically a fixed monthly fee for the Core plan, plus a fixed monthly fee for the Health and Safety add-on if you need it. Paid directly by you, and we tell you the figures up front.
What if we hit problems mid-programme, like a grievance or disciplinary?
Live employee relations matters sit outside the programme scope. If something flares up while we are building your foundations, we handle it on a separate fixed-fee basis, or at our ad-hoc rate of £105/hr + VAT, billed in 15-minute blocks. Always flagged in advance, so you are never surprised.
What happens after the six months?
Most clients move onto our Retained HR support, a monthly retainer with included advice and HR system access. Any hours beyond your retainer are charged at £70/hr + VAT. Your retainer is agreed at the end of Month 6 based on your actual usage and any growth. There is no lock-in, so you can leave whenever you like.
Is the Programme right if we already have contracts and a handbook?
Probably not. You would be paying us to redo things that are already done. If your contracts are recent, signed, compliant with the Employment Rights Act 2025, and reflect how you actually work, you do not need the Programme. You might want a one-off HR compliance audit instead, to confirm.
Ready to get the foundations right?
Book a free 15-minute HR review. We will walk through your business, check we are a good fit, agree the scope, and quote a fixed fee on the call. We only take on a limited number of Surrey businesses at a time.
Book your free HR review