SWITCHING HR PROVIDER
Move to support built around your business.
If your current HR support is slow, generic or simply no longer right for your business, changing provider does not need to mean starting again.
Harrington Raine provides ongoing HR & Employment Law support with clear relationship ownership, commercially focused advice and the documentation prepared for you. We can help you understand the practical handover, pick up the matters already in progress and establish a better way of working going forward.
Your Primary Advisor · Same-day response standard · Drafted for you
WHY BUSINESSES SWITCH
Most businesses do not start looking for a new HR provider without a reason. Sometimes the service has deteriorated. Sometimes the business has simply changed and needs more from the relationship.
The warning signs are often practical rather than dramatic. Advice takes too long to arrive. Managers repeatedly explain the same background. Different advisors give slightly different answers. Or the response explains the risks without ever making clear what the business should actually do.
Good HR & Employment Law support should reduce the workload on your management team. It should help you reach decisions, understand the risk and move forward with confidence.
If the existing relationship is creating more work, delay or uncertainty than it removes, it may be worth asking whether the service still fits the business.
There is little sense that anyone really knows the business or remembers what has happened before.
Employee issues continue to develop while managers wait for the advice they need.
You receive technically safe answers, but they do not always reflect the commercial reality of the situation.
You are given the options and risks, but the final decision is effectively handed straight back to you.
The advice arrives, but your team is then expected to turn it into letters, scripts and practical correspondence.
What worked when the organisation was smaller may no longer provide the depth, capacity or expertise you now need.
You do not need to wait until the relationship becomes completely unworkable before deciding whether your current HR provider is still right for the business.
WHAT BETTER SUPPORT LOOKS LIKE
A new logo on the contract is not enough. If you are going through the effort of changing HR provider, the new relationship should solve the frustrations that made you start looking in the first place.
The right provider should make it easier to get clear advice, make decisions and put those decisions into practice.
Someone should understand your business, the relationship and the wider context behind the advice being given.
You should not have to rebuild that understanding from scratch every time a new issue arises.
Employee matters rarely improve while they sit unanswered.
You should know when you can expect a response and have confidence that an important query will not simply disappear into a queue..
Good advice should do more than explain every possible option.
Once the risks are understood, your advisor should be prepared to recommend the route they believe best fits the outcome your business needs.
Straightforward matters should be handled efficiently, but more complex or higher-risk issues need access to the right level of expertise.
Your provider should have the capacity to escalate matters without making the relationship feel fragmented.
Advice is only useful if your management team can act on it.
Where letters, scripts, correspondence or other documentation are required, support should extend beyond simply telling you what needs to be written.
A genuinely personal service should not depend on one individual always being available.
The strongest model combines someone owning the relationship with a wider team capable of keeping matters moving when appropriate.
These criteria deliberately reflect the Harrington Raine relationship model without yet making the section a direct sales pitch: ownership, wider-team capacity, recommended routes and execution are all central to the brand proposition
The question is not simply whether another provider can offer HR advice. It is whether the way that advice is delivered will make running your business easier.
THE HARRINGTON RAINE MODEL
Changing provider should result in more than a different telephone number. Harrington Raine is built around clear relationship ownership, fast access to the right expertise and advice that helps you decide what to do next.
01
Every retained client has a named Primary Advisor who owns the overall relationship and gets to understand the business, its history and the wider context behind the decisions being made.
That means continuity where it genuinely adds value — without forcing every query through one individual.
02
Your Primary Advisor is supported by the wider Harrington Raine advisory team.
Straightforward matters can be dealt with quickly by an appropriately experienced advisor, while complex or higher-risk issues can reach the right specialist. The objective is simple: maintain ownership without creating a bottleneck.
03
We start by understanding what the business actually needs to achieve.
We assess the legal and commercial position, explain the realistic risks and then recommend the quickest defensible route towards that outcome. You should know what we think you should do — not simply receive a list of possibilities.
04
Queries received before 3pm UK time on a working day receive a response that working day.
Straightforward questions may be resolved immediately. More complex matters may require further information or analysis, but you will know the issue has been picked up, what happens next and who is dealing with it.
05
Advice should lead to action.
Where documentation is required as part of the service, Harrington Raine prepares the letters, scripts, correspondence or other supporting material needed to put the advice into practice.
The client should not receive advice and then unnecessarily be left to work out how to implement it themselves.
These are all established parts of the Harrington Raine retained-service proposition, including the distinction between Primary Advisor ownership and wider-team delivery, and the precise scope of the same-day response commitment.
Your business. Your Primary Advisor. Our wider team.
Personal ownership where it matters. Wider-team capacity when it improves speed.
A PRACTICAL HANDOVER
Your employment history does not reset because you change HR provider.
There may already be live employee issues, previous advice, established processes and important background that affects what should happen next. A sensible handover starts by understanding the material history rather than treating the business as though everything began on day one.
When Harrington Raine takes over ongoing support, the relevant context may include:
The documents already governing the employment relationship and the way the business currently operates.
Disciplinary processes, grievances, performance concerns, sickness absence or capability issues that are already under way.
Planned or active redundancy exercises, restructures, TUPE matters or contractual changes.
Any conversations, correspondence or proposals that have already taken place.
Existing deadlines, correspondence or formal proceedings requiring continuity and careful review.
Where the business has already acted on advice, that history may be relevant to the route available now.
The aim is not to audit every historical HR file unnecessarily. It is to understand enough of the important context to give consistent advice going forward and identify anything that needs immediate attention.
The employment history did not start when you changed provider. Good advice should recognise what happened before.
PLANNING THE SWITCH
The smoothest changes usually begin before the existing arrangement finishes.
A little preparation helps protect continuity, avoids missed deadlines and gives the new provider the information needed to start advising properly from day one.
01
Start with the practical terms of the current arrangement.
Look at notice periods, renewal dates, termination provisions and any obligations that continue after notice is given.
You should understand where you stand contractually before committing to a change.
02
Make a simple list of anything already live or time-sensitive.
That might include disciplinary action, grievance matters, sickness or capability issues, redundancy planning, settlement discussions, Acas correspondence or Tribunal deadlines.
These matters should be prioritised during the handover rather than treated as ordinary background information.
03
The new provider does not necessarily need every historic document immediately, but it does need enough information to understand the employment position properly.
Relevant material may include contracts, policies, key correspondence, live case records and previous advice that management has relied upon.
Where information is transferred, confidentiality and data-protection obligations should be handled appropriately.
04
The handover should also be about how the new service will work going forward.
That means knowing who owns the relationship, how queries should be raised, what response standards apply and how more complex matters are escalated.
04
Once the essential background is understood, the first job is to decide what needs attention now.
The aim is not to spend weeks recreating the past. It is to establish enough context to give sound advice, maintain continuity and move the important matters forward.
A well-managed switch is less about transferring everything at once and more about making sure the right information, responsibilities and priorities are clear.
PACKAGES & PRICING
If you are comparing providers, price matters — but so does what you receive for it.
Enter the number of people you employ to see an indicative monthly price for Harrington Raine's ongoing HR & Employment Law support.
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employees
Day-to-day HR & Employment Law support, with clear recommendations and the documentation prepared for you.
Your workforce is above our standard online pricing range. Speak to an Advisor and we'll confirm the appropriate price for your business.
Named Primary Advisor, backed by our wider team
Same-day response standard
HR & Employment Law advice
Letters, scripts and documentation drafted for you
Outcome Support, with Employment Tribunal defence included for eligible claims, subject to the applicable service terms.
Your workforce is above our standard online pricing range. Speak to an Advisor, and we'll confirm the appropriate price for your business.
Everything included in Outcome Support
Employment Tribunal defence*
Support from claim through to conclusion
Defence strategy and commercial assessment
Prices exclude VAT. Monthly prices shown are based on a 36-month agreement and apply for the first 12 months. Prices increase by 4% on each anniversary.
Prefer to pay annually? Pay annually and receive a 5% discount.
The right model depends on what capability you already have and where you need additional support.Some businesses start looking for a new HR provider precisely because a difficult employee issue has exposed weaknesses in the current service.
That does not automatically mean the matter needs to stay with the existing provider until it is finished. What matters is understanding exactly where the process has reached, what has already been said or done, and whether there are any immediate deadlines or risks.
A change of provider can potentially take place while you are dealing with matters such as:
a disciplinary process already under way;
ongoing performance or capability concerns;
difficult long-term sickness absence;
planned redundancy or restructuring;
Acas Early Conciliation;
a threatened or existing Employment Tribunal claim.
The new advisor needs enough information to understand the current position before recommending what happens next.
That may mean reviewing key correspondence, previous advice, meeting notes, documents already issued and any commitments the business has made.
Where a matter is already live, Harrington Raine would need to understand three things quickly:
01
The steps already taken, advice received and communications with the employee.
02
Any immediate deadline, meeting, response or decision that cannot simply wait for the wider handover.
03
There should be no ambiguity over whether the existing provider, Harrington Raine or the employer itself is responsible for the next action.
Changing provider cannot guarantee that earlier decisions or procedural problems can be undone.
But an existing issue should not automatically prevent you from reviewing whether you want different support going forward.
The priority is to understand the current position, protect anything time-sensitive and agree a clear route from here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Changing provider can raise practical questions about contracts, live employee matters, documentation and how the new relationship will work. These are some of the questions employers most often need answered before making a decision.
Start by checking your current agreement so you understand any notice, renewal or termination provisions. You should then identify any live employee matters, key documents and upcoming deadlines that need continuity.
Once the practical position is clear, the new provider can establish what information is required, agree priorities and set up the new support relationship.
Potentially, but it depends on the terms of your existing agreement.
There may be minimum terms, notice requirements, early termination provisions or continuing payment obligations. You should understand those terms before committing to a change rather than assuming the existing arrangement can simply be cancelled.
Many businesses review their provider before a renewal or notice deadline, but there is no single right time.
If the service no longer meets the needs of the business, it can be sensible to consider alternatives before the relationship becomes a more significant operational problem. The important point is to understand your existing contractual position and plan the handover properly.
You should identify the documents and information the new provider genuinely needs to support the business properly.
This may include employment contracts, policies, live employee-relations records and relevant previous correspondence or advice. Any transfer of employee information should be handled appropriately from a confidentiality and data-protection perspective.
Yes, an ongoing employee matter does not necessarily mean you must wait before changing provider.
The new advisor will need to understand what has happened so far, what documentation has already been issued and whether any deadlines or meetings are approaching before recommending the next step.
Not every historic issue needs to be recreated in detail.
The priority is to understand the information that remains relevant to current advice: live matters, previous decisions that continue to affect the employment relationship, important business context and any advice management has already relied upon.
A retained Harrington Raine client has a named Primary Advisor who owns the overall relationship and gets to know the business over time, supported by the wider advisory team.
That will depend on the current arrangement, the amount of information involved and whether there are any urgent employee matters requiring immediate attention.
Where a switch is agreed, the objective is to establish the essential context and priorities efficiently so the business can move into the new support arrangement without unnecessary delay.
A retained Harrington Raine client has a named Primary Advisor who owns the overall relationship and gets to know the business over time, supported by the wider advisory team.
You will have a named Primary Advisor who owns the overall relationship and gets to understand your business.
Your Primary Advisor is supported by the wider Harrington Raine advisory team, so straightforward matters do not need to wait unnecessarily and more complex issues can reach the appropriate expertise.
This gives you clear relationship ownership without making service dependent on one individual always being available.
Yes. Where documentation is required as part of the service, Harrington Raine prepares the relevant letters, scripts, correspondence or other supporting material.
Our approach is that advice should lead to action rather than leaving your management team to work out how to implement the recommendation themselves.
Pricing depends primarily on your employee numbers and the package selected.
Tell us what is working, what is not and where you are with your current provider.
We can explain how Harrington Raine works, talk through the practical handover and help you decide whether we are the right next provider for your business.
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