HANDS-ON HR SUPPORT
When advice alone is not enough, bring an experienced HR professional directly into the process.
Harrington Raine can provide experienced HR consultants to conduct, chair or participate in internal employee meetings and processes, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance, redundancy consultation and appeal meetings.
Whether you already use Harrington Raine for ongoing support or need help with one particular matter, we can provide hands-on HR consultancy remotely or on-site where appropriate.
Queries received before 3pm on a working day receive a response that working day.
WHEN ADVICE ISN’T ENOUGH
A manager may understand the process they need to follow and still not feel comfortable running the meeting themselves.
Perhaps they are too closely involved in what has happened. Perhaps the conversation is particularly sensitive. They may lack experience handling formal employee meetings, need additional HR capacity, or simply want someone who deals with these situations regularly to help keep the process structured.
That is where HR Consultancy & Meeting Support comes in.
Our ongoing HR support can explain the position, recommend the route and prepare the documentation. Where you need more than that, Harrington Raine can provide an experienced HR professional to become directly involved in the internal process.
You retain control of the meeting and process.
We can help you understand the position, recommend what to do next and prepare the documentation you need to move forward.
We become directly involved.
Depending on the agreed scope, an experienced Harrington Raine HR professional can conduct, chair or participate in the meeting itself.
Drafted for you does not automatically mean conducted for you. When you want us directly involved, HR Consultancy & Meeting Support provides that additional hands-on support.
HANDS-ON HR SUPPORT
Not every employee issue needs the same level of involvement.
Depending on the circumstances and the agreed scope, Harrington Raine can provide an experienced HR professional to conduct, chair or participate in a range of internal workplace meetings and processes.
Support where you want an experienced HR professional directly involved in an internal disciplinary process, including conducting or chairing the meeting where appropriate.
Hands-on support with grievance meetings where additional experience, structure or separation from the immediate management team would be helpful.
Direct HR involvement in formal capability or performance discussions where the matter requires a structured and properly managed process.
Support conducting redundancy consultation meetings and helping ensure the process remains organised, clear and professionally handled.
An experienced HR professional can support or chair an internal appeal hearing where appropriate to the circumstances and agreed scope.
We can also support other employee-relations meetings where direct HR involvement would add value and the requirement falls within the agreed scope.
WHY EXTERNAL HR SUPPORT?
Sometimes the issue is not knowing what process to follow. It is having the right person available to run it well.
Bringing in an experienced HR consultant can give managers additional support, capacity and structure at a point where the conversation may be difficult, sensitive or commercially important.
Difficult employee meetings can move quickly and do not always follow the script. An experienced consultant can help keep the discussion focused, ask the right questions and deal calmly with issues as they arise.
Internal HR or management teams may simply not have the time to prepare for and conduct a lengthy employee process. External support can provide additional resource without creating a permanent staffing requirement.
There are circumstances where it can be useful for somebody outside the immediate management team to conduct or chair a meeting, particularly where those managers are closely involved in the background to the issue.
A formal disciplinary, grievance, capability or appeal meeting can be unfamiliar territory. Having an experienced HR professional directly involved can give managers greater confidence that the meeting is being handled in a structured and professional way.
Sometimes the most valuable support is not another set of recommendations. It is having somebody who can help put those recommendations into practice and move the process forward.
HOW THE SUPPORT WORKS
Good meeting support starts before anyone enters the room.
We take time to understand the background, what the meeting needs to achieve and the role you want Harrington Raine to play. The level of involvement is then agreed around the circumstances and the scope of the engagement.
Depending on the requirement, we can review the relevant background and documentation, understand the purpose of the meeting, clarify roles and help ensure the process is properly prepared before it begins.
An experienced HR professional can chair, conduct or participate in the meeting as agreed. We help keep the discussion structured, ask relevant questions and ensure the employee has an appropriate opportunity to explain their position.
Our involvement does not necessarily end when the meeting finishes. Depending on the scope, we can support the next procedural step, assist with relevant documentation and help the employer decide how the matter should move forward.
For retained clients, the matter can then flow back into the wider Harrington Raine advisory relationship for any ongoing advice and drafting required.
The objective is not to predetermine the outcome. It is to help you run the process in a structured, professional and well-prepared way.
THE RIGHT LEVEL OF SUPPORT
You may not need us to take over the entire process.
Sometimes the right support is an experienced HR professional chairing the meeting. In other situations, you may want your own manager to remain in control with Harrington Raine alongside them.
We agree the role at the outset, so everyone understands who is doing what.
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Where appropriate, an experienced Harrington Raine consultant can take responsibility for chairing the internal meeting, keeping the discussion structured and ensuring the relevant issues are properly explored.
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For matters requiring greater hands-on involvement, we can agree a broader consultancy role covering preparation and direct involvement in the internal process itself.
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Your manager can remain in the chair while an experienced HR consultant participates alongside them, providing structure, guidance and support during a difficult or unfamiliar meeting.
The service is scoped around what will genuinely help — not around putting an HR consultant into every stage unnecessarily.
FLEXIBLE SUPPORT
You do not need to change your entire HR arrangement just because one employee issue needs more hands-on support.
HR Consultancy & Meeting Support can be used as an additional service by existing Harrington Raine clients, or as a standalone consultancy engagement for employers who need help with one particular process.
Your ongoing service gives you advice, recommendations and documentation within the agreed scope.
If you want Harrington Raine to go a step further and directly conduct, chair or participate in an internal meeting, we can scope that additional consultancy support separately.
Your existing relationship gives us useful context, while the appropriate consultant can be allocated according to the needs of the matter and availability.
You can also approach Harrington Raine specifically for hands-on HR consultancy without taking an ongoing retainer first.
We can discuss the situation, what stage the process has reached and what level of involvement you need, then agree an appropriate scope for the work.
If the matter later highlights a broader need for ongoing HR & Employment Law support, we can explain that service separately.
Start with the support you actually need.
SCOPE & PRICING
HR Consultancy & Meeting Support is quoted according to the work required.
Before the engagement begins, we will discuss the situation, what stage the process has reached and what you need Harrington Raine to do. We can then agree the scope of the consultancy and provide the relevant fee.
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A single capability meeting is very different from a more involved disciplinary, grievance or redundancy process.
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The amount of background material, correspondence and documentation that needs reviewing can affect the work involved before the meeting takes place.
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Some matters may require one meeting. Others may involve several stages or further meetings as the process develops.
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Consultancy can be provided remotely or on-site where appropriate. The delivery method will form part of the agreed scope.
The aim is to agree the role and cost clearly before we begin, so you know what support you are buying and what Harrington Raine will be responsible for.
HR CONSULTANCY FAQs
Related employer support:
Broader advice on difficult employment decisions.
Ongoing advice, drafting and day-to-day employer support.
Support if an employment dispute becomes a Tribunal claim.
See the options for ongoing HR & Employment Law support.
Yes. Where appropriate and within the agreed scope, an experienced Harrington Raine HR professional can chair or conduct an internal disciplinary meeting or hearing.
We can also support your own manager if you would prefer them to remain in the chair but want experienced HR involvement alongside them.
Yes. Harrington Raine can provide hands-on support with internal grievance meetings and hearings, including chairing the meeting where appropriate.
This can be particularly useful where additional experience, capacity or some separation from the immediate management structure would help.
Yes. We can provide HR Consultancy & Meeting Support for formal performance and capability meetings.
Depending on what you need, our role may involve chairing the meeting, participating alongside your manager or providing broader support through the process.
Yes. We can provide hands-on HR support with redundancy consultation meetings as part of an agreed consultancy engagement.
The wider redundancy process, including advice on how the employer should approach the proposed restructuring or redundancies, can also be supported separately through our Employment Law services.
Potentially, yes. Harrington Raine can support or chair internal appeal hearings where appropriate to the circumstances.
We will first understand what has happened so far, who has previously been involved and what role you need us to perform before agreeing the engagement.
No. HR Consultancy & Meeting Support can be provided to existing retained clients or as a standalone engagement for an employer that needs help with a particular internal HR matter.
You do not need to take an ongoing HR retainer simply to discuss one specific consultancy requirement.
Not automatically.
Outcome Support provides advice, recommendations and documentation within the agreed service scope. If you want Harrington Raine to conduct, chair or participate directly in an internal meeting or process, that is separately chargeable unless expressly included within your agreement.
In short: drafted for you does not automatically mean conducted for you.
Yes. Harrington Raine supports employers across England, Scotland and Wales, with HR Consultancy & Meeting Support available remotely or on-site where appropriate.
We will agree the most suitable arrangement when the requirement is scoped, taking account of the process, meeting format and practical circumstances.
We will respond quickly and discuss what you need, but consultant attendance depends on the nature of the matter, preparation required, meeting date, location and team availability.
Harrington Raine's same-day response standard applies to queries received before 3pm UK time on a working day, but a same-day response does not mean that same-day consultant attendance can always be provided.
No.
HR Consultancy & Meeting Support concerns internal workplace meetings and hearings, such as disciplinary, grievance, capability and appeal hearings.
Employment Tribunal defence and hearing advocacy are separate services. If you are dealing with an Employment Tribunal claim, Harrington Raine can discuss the appropriate Employment Law support with you.
Yes. You do not need to outsource your HR function to use this service.
Harrington Raine can work alongside an internal HR team where additional capacity, senior experience or support outside the immediate management structure would be useful for a particular employee-relations process.
Yes. Some matters involve a single meeting, while others develop through several stages.
Where more than one meeting is likely to be required, we can agree a wider scope covering the relevant stages rather than treating each meeting as an unrelated piece of work. The extent of our involvement will be agreed before the work proceeds.
Yes, where this forms part of the agreed scope.
Depending on the matter, we can assist with the next procedural step and relevant documentation following the meeting. Existing retained clients can also move back into their ongoing Harrington Raine advisory service for further advice and drafting where appropriate.
No.
Harrington Raine can conduct or chair the meeting, consider the information presented and provide findings or recommendations as appropriate. The final employment decision remains with the employer.
This keeps responsibility for decisions such as disciplinary sanctions, dismissal or the outcome of an appeal with your business, while giving you the benefit of experienced HR support throughout the process.
Tell us what process you are dealing with, where you are in that process and what level of support you need.
We can discuss whether HR Consultancy & Meeting Support is appropriate, agree the scope and arrange the right support subject to availability.
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