Independent HR Support for Employees - would this be useful?

[mammaneedsadrink]

Hi everyone,

I’m an HR professional with experience across a range of industries, and I’m thinking about offering support directly to employees who are facing difficult situations at work.

This could include things like:
Understanding processes like PIPs, disciplinary or grievance procedures
Drafting letters or responses
Preparing for meetings and offering accompaniment if you want a supportive presence
Guidance on settlement agreements, redundancy discussions, or tricky HR process

I’m curious — would a service like this help someone navigate a settlement agreement process or similar situations?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or whether you think something like this would be useful. If you prefer, I can DM you to chat privately.

Thanks so much!

It sounds like access to something like that would be really helpful for many.

You'd have to be very careful how you pitch your services though so that you don't get blamed if someone's case doesn't go the way they expect.

Thanks for your reply. I definitely feel like there is a gap there, so keen to find out if others think so to.

Yes, if I did proceed, then I would absolutely have to be careful about how I market it - wouldn’t want people thinking I’m providing a legal service

How would you go about accompanying them to meetings? I thought this was only possible if you are employed by the same company as the person or are a trade union official whether or not the person is a member of your union.

Generally a companion will need to be a colleague or a trade union professional. However, sometimes if you ask they will agree. I know in my professional experience I’ve never declined - it’s a reasonable thing in my view as long as the companion understands their role in the meeting and what they can and can’t do. Of course not all companies would agree, but it’s something I would be prepared to offer if applicable

I've been an employment lawyer for a long time and I've never been allowed (or allowed) a non-colleague or union rep to attend, save in one case where the individual's daughter could. On that basis, I'm not sure there's much of a market for accompanying. I do think there's a place for the other support, especially if you're going to be cheaper than an employment lawyer, but you're going to have to be really careful that you aren't seen to be offering legal advice, either by clients or the regulators of legal services. I think you'll also need professional indemnity insurance, which can be hugely expensive. I also think it might prove unsatisfactory to clients when things move beyond mere process and they have to start all over again with an employment lawyer. Also, the legalities influence strategy; I wouldn't be impressed if a client came to me having been advised or assisted to raise a grievance, when I might have done things differently and it's impacted my ability to get the best outcome.

Also, are you a relevant adviser within the meaning of the legislation for the purposes of advising on a settlement agreement? No lawyer is going to rubberstamp an agreement without reviewing it and advising the client, no matter how much they say they are happy with it.

I don't really understand what you would be offering. Surely what people really need in these situations is affordable legal advice?

So you're creating a business to support individuals who have HR issues?

Honestly, if I had reached the point where I needed advice on a specific case, I would imagine I'd be looking at a no-win no fee lawyer

or if it's literally just initial advice in vague terms, then there are loads of other places to get free advice

Everyone's going to need their internal procedures explained to them more than anything else. And you wouldn't be internal so you can't do that.

I'm not entirely sure what your offering is, because you're not a lawyer.

otherwise, anyone could come on here or Reddit etc and post at least an outline of their situation and get some advice.

Thanks for all the comments, they’re really helpful for gaging if this would be viable @Gabbycat245apologies I worded that part wrong. I’m not a relevant advisor when it comes to a settlement agreement. What I meant was I would advise them on how to maximise their payout, so before it comes to an employment solicitor to review, advise and sign. My experience is that a solicitor wouldn’t typically negotiate for the employee without charging in addition to the fee paid by the employer - but happy to be corrected here?

I guess my vision is more if someone is subject to a disciplinary, or pip or having issues at work and coaching them how best to handle it at a lower cost than a solicitor - although the caveat would be I can’t give legal advice

It might work as a sideline, but I would have thought the demographic of clients you'd have will likely mostly be those who can't afford external advice whatever the cost.

Meaning I guess (hopefully in a non-offensive way, just purely with a commercial head on), anyone switched on can find the advice you'd give themselves. If they need help, then its probably unlikely they'd have had a job with the income level needed to pay for advice in the first place IMO.

@mammaneedsadrink a solicitor will certainly help negotiate maximum payout

They would obviously charge for that time, but if you were offering the advice at a cheaper rate, if someone's using a solicitor in the first place, then it would be much better to have someone familiar with the case during the negotiations.

Where I can see a market is people who don't have access to a union and need specific advice but not going as far as a solicitor. But again, with general advice you're competing with all the information available online. And also the helpful communities available online.

I realise taking advice from randoms online is not getting the use of a solid service, but you'd have to look at whether there is a midline position where you are providing a more useful service than someone can get for free, but you're also not a solicitor.

Also, some people will have legal advice as an added extra on their household insurance.

@mammaneedsadrink what you are describing is similar to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). This supports employees and managers through processes like PIP, grievances etc.

Would being a coach be better?

Your professional indemnity insurance will be very high. And of course employment solicitors advise clients with settlement agreements on how to maximise the amount they receive. Thats the job.

You mean charge to do the work of a union rep? Something that costs a few quid a week and is backed up by regular training, specialist teams, free legal representation where the prospects of success are in favour of the employee and the representatives are covered for claims in the event of somebody being unhappy that they didn't get them the moon on a stick?

Interesting idea.

@mammaneedsadrink I suppose my point was that if the legal fee contribution is going to be used up by the lawyer signing it off, why would someone pay you and then have to explain everything again to the lawyer, when they could have done everything through the lawyer in the first place? You might be a bit cheaper, but I'm not convinced that's enough to override the hassle factor tbh.

Also the employer is going to get pretty pissed if you 'conclude' negotiations and the lawyer comes along and realises it's not a good package. We'd be obliged to tell our client that, they may then want to reopen negotiations. Unlikely to go down well and probably not in the individual's best interests.

I also agree that there's lot of advice available online for where I see your target market. It might not always be good advice, but that doesn't seem to stop a lot of people!

You would be better off applying for a job with a trade union surely? Or ACAS?

I’ll say the same as I did on your last thread: most people who need legal advice will use a lawyer.

to expand on that:

who is your target market?

at the lower end of the economic scale (people in jobs at national average etc), your target group will be relying on unions to the advice you’re giving. They likely can’t afford your services.

in the mid range your target group will be relying on a mix of unions and their own professional circle, with occasional reliance on lawyers through insurance schemes. They can probably pay a bit for your services but are unlikely to need to.

At the top end of the economic scale you have he people wiling and able to pay for advice but they won’t pay for it from at HR advisor. They’ll want a lawyer who will absolutely be able to negotiate a settlement agreement.

You also need to be incredibly careful since your "advice" will not be covered by legal professional privilege.As such you could get your clients into a lot of difficulty.

Admittedly, because employees are the ones who commence employment litigation, this applies more to HR consultants advising companies rather than those advising employees. The companies often don't realise that the advice given by HR consultants is fully disclosable in the event of litigation. It isn't privileged or excluded in any way.

I don't think it's a realistic idea OP. I simply don't know why an employee would ever take advice from an HR person on a settlement agreement when they then have to duplicate the cost and have it signed off by a solicitor.

Going to work for ACAS is a good idea though.