HR Retainer Pricing and Packages: What Does an HR Retainer Cost?

A plain-English guide for UK small business owners considering outsourced HR support

If you have ever Googled ‘do I need HR support’ at 10pm after a difficult conversation with an employee, you already understand the appeal of having an HR expert on call. An HR retainer, sometimes called retained HR or retained HR support, is the formal version of a monthly or annual arrangement that gives your business consistent, professional HR support at a predictable fixed cost, without hiring a full-time HR manager.

Centric HR offers three retainer tiers starting from a bundle of 12 hours per year, scaling to a fully bespoke fixed-price arrangement for larger teams. This guide covers how retainer pricing works, what you get at each level, and how to decide which model fits your business.

What Is an HR Retainer Service?

An HR retainer is a monthly agreement between your business and an outsourced HR company. In exchange for a fixed or bundle-based monthly fee, you get ongoing access to HR professionals who can advise you, draft documents, manage cases, and keep you compliant with UK employment law.

This kind of arrangement is also commonly known as retained HR, retained HR services, or retained HR support. Whichever term you’ve come across, it describes the same model: ongoing, dependable access to HR expertise for a predictable monthly cost, rather than hiring in-house or paying hourly as issues come up.

Think of it as having an HR department on a subscription. You are not hiring a member of staff, you are buying access to a team of qualified HR consultants who get to know your business and are available when you need them.

Unlike pay-as-you-go HR, where you pay an hourly rate each time you need help, a retainer gives you a consistent level of support at a predictable monthly cost. That predictability is one of its biggest advantages for small business owners who are trying to manage a budget.

How Does an HR Retainer Work in Practice?

The specifics vary between providers, but here is how a typical HR retainer works for a UK small business:

You agree a package based on your size and needs

Most HR companies offer tiered retainer packages based on how many employees you have and how much support you are likely to need. A business with 8 employees will have very different requirements from one with 45.

You pay a fixed monthly amount

Your monthly cost is agreed upfront. This covers a defined level of support, usually a bundle of hours or a set scope of services, so you know exactly what you are paying and what you get for it.

You contact your HR consultant as issues arise

When something comes up, whether that is a disciplinary situation, an employee absence, a request to change a contract, or a question about a new piece of employment legislation, you contact your named HR consultant directly. They already know your business, so you are not starting from scratch every time.

Your documents and policies are kept up to date

Part of most retainer arrangements is ensuring your employment contracts, staff handbooks, and HR policies remain legally compliant. Employment law changes regularly, and staying on top of those changes is one of the clearest ways a retainer pays for itself.

Complex matters are handled with you or on your behalf

For more involved situations such as a formal disciplinary process, a redundancy programme, or a grievance investigation, your HR consultant will either guide you through the process step by step or manage it on your behalf, depending on your package and preference.

Centric HR Retainer and HR Packages: What Is Available

Centric HR offers three options, designed to suit businesses at different stages and with different levels of HR need:

All packages include employment law updates so you stay informed of changes that affect your business. The Premium and Professional packages are 12-month arrangements, giving you continuity of support and a reduced hourly rate compared to pay-as-you-go.

Is an HR Retainer Worth It for a Small Business?

This is the question most business owners ask, and the honest answer is: it depends on your situation. Here is a straightforward way to think about it.

HR Retainer Pricing: Retainer vs Pay As You Go vs In-House

Understanding HR retainer pricing means comparing it against the two most common alternatives: paying hourly as issues arise, or employing an HR manager in-house. Here is how the numbers stack up for a typical UK small business.

Compared to pay-as-you-go HR

Centric HR’s pay-as-you-go rate is £140 per hour plus VAT. If you are calling for advice six or more times a year, spending time on a disciplinary case, or asking for contracts to be reviewed, the hours add up quickly. A retainer typically gives you more hours at a lower effective rate, plus the benefit of continuity.

Compared to hiring an in-house HR manager

An in-house HR manager in the UK typically costs between £30,000 and £50,000 per year in salary alone, before you factor in employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday cover, and recruitment costs. For most small businesses, that is simply not justifiable. A retainer gives you access to a team of CIPD-qualified HR professionals for a fraction of that cost.

The hidden cost of getting it wrong

Employment tribunal claims are expensive. Even a straightforward unfair dismissal claim can cost a business tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees, management time, and any award made. Many of these situations arise from poorly handled disciplinaries, inadequate contracts, or advice from someone who is not qualified to give it. A retainer is, in part, insurance against those costs.

Learn more on: What is the Difference Between Ad-hoc HR Support and a HR Retainer?

What Is Typically Included in an HR Retainer?

While packages vary between providers, a well-structured HR retainer for a small business should cover:

• Employment law advice on demand, from contracts and working time to dismissal and discrimination
• Drafting and updating employment contracts tailored to your business
• Staff handbook and HR policy creation and review
• Guidance on disciplinary and grievance procedures in line with ACAS Codes of Practice
• Support managing short and long-term sickness absence
• Advice on redundancy, restructuring, and TUPE transfers
• Regular employment law updates and newsletters
• Access to HR document templates

More strategic packages, such as Centric HR’s Professional tier, can also include access to training webinars, a dedicated sickness management service, and bespoke consultancy on people strategy, reward management, and leadership development.

Questions to Ask Before Signing an HR Retainer

Before committing to any retainer arrangement, make sure you get clear answers to the following:

• How many hours are included, and what happens if I need more?
• Is there a named consultant for my account, or will I speak to different people each time?
• What is the response time guarantee for urgent matters?
• What is covered in the retainer fee and what falls outside it?
• What are the notice and exit terms if the arrangement is not working?
• Are the consultants CIPD-qualified?
• Does the provider carry professional indemnity insurance?

When a Retainer Makes a Real Difference: Three Scenarios

Scenario 1: Managing a difficult dismissal

A small business owner needs to dismiss an underperforming employee. Without HR support, they manage the process informally and the employee makes a claim for unfair dismissal. With a retained HR consultant, the process is documented correctly from the outset, a fair procedure is followed, and the risk of a tribunal claim is significantly reduced.

Scenario 2: Employment law changes

New legislation on workers’ rights comes into force. Without a retainer, the business owner reads about it in a trade newsletter three months later and realises their contracts are non-compliant. With a retainer, their HR consultant flags the change proactively and updates the relevant documents before the deadline.

Scenario 3: Short-term sickness becoming a pattern

An employee starts taking regular one or two day absences. Left unmanaged, this escalates and affects the wider team. A retained HR consultant helps the business owner implement a return-to-work process, monitor the pattern using Bradford Factor scoring, and address the issue appropriately before it becomes a formal HR case.

So, Is an HR Retainer Worth It?

For most growing businesses with a team of five or more people, yes. The combination of cost predictability, legal protection, and the ability to handle people issues quickly and correctly makes a retained HR arrangement one of the most practical investments a small business can make.

The key is choosing the right provider and the right tier. You do not want to pay for services you will never use, but you do want to know that when something difficult happens, you have a qualified expert on the other end of the phone who already knows your business.

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