CIPD-Qualified HR Consultancy Based in Devon
Practical, personal HR consultancy for small businesses and growing teams across the South West — and remotely throughout the UK. From employment contracts to company culture, we'll help you get it right.
We're business owners ourselves, so we know first-hand that getting people management right is what makes or breaks a company. We take the time to understand your needs, your culture and the way you already work — then build HR that fits it.
15+ years' experience · Business-owner led · Free 30-minute discovery call
What We Do
Whether you're hiring your first employee or navigating complex people challenges, we provide hands-on outsourced HR support across every aspect of HR — for small businesses, charities and growing teams.
Bespoke staff handbooks, HR policies and procedures that keep you compliant with UK employment law — and that actually reflect your company values, rather than a template someone else wrote.
From writing job adverts and role profiles to structuring fair interviews, right-to-work checks and welcoming new starters — recruitment and onboarding done properly, first time.
Calm, practical guidance on grievances, disciplinaries, absence management, performance management and those tricky conversations — following a fair process in line with the Acas Code.
Restructures, redundancy consultation, culture audits and change management — plus one-off HR projects that need senior attention. Strategic support at the moments that matter most to your business.
Employment contracts, offer letters, written statements of particulars and settlement agreements — clear, compliant and tailored to how your business actually works.
A dedicated outsourced HR partner on call. Flexible monthly retainer packages mean expert HR advice is always just a message away, at a cost you can budget for.
Need a senior adviser for a thorny issue, or an administrator to keep the paperwork moving? We work at whatever level suits — strategic counsel, day-to-day advice or hands-on HR administration — and flex as your needs change.
Support with B Corp certification, workplace sustainability and employer-of-choice award submissions — the operational detail of evidence, policy and process, and the people strategy behind why you're doing it at all.
Choosing, implementing and bedding in an HRIS — including payroll, data migration and the training that gets people actually using it. We have run these from the inside, so the pitfalls are familiar ones.
Management and leadership training, line-manager coaching and company-wide development programmes — designed and delivered rather than bought off a shelf, including multi-day ways-of-working programmes.
Annual salary and benefit reviews, pay structures and benchmarking, and building a reward package that helps you attract and keep people without simply paying more than you can afford.
Engagement surveys, internal communications, values work and culture change — including the harder version, where structure and behaviour have to shift together rather than just the wording.
About Sow HR
Sow HR is built on senior, in-house HR leadership — not advice learned from a textbook, but experience gained sitting in the leadership meetings, owning the headcount conversations, and having the difficult conversations directly.
Our team's experience spans:
This is what sits behind every piece of work we do — whether that's a single employment contract or a full outsourced HR partnership. We hold an MA in Human Resource Management and Associate CIPD membership, and as we grow, we're building a small network of experienced, like-minded HR associates so that same standard of support scales with your business, not just ours.
Sectors we've worked in
Track Record
A few of the outcomes behind the advice.
£73,000
Annual recruitment spend saved for one business, cutting cost-per-hire from £4,200 to £560
93%
Reduction in recruitment agency spend achieved through direct candidate sourcing
35 people
Redundancy programme planned and delivered fairly and compliantly, including full consultation
1
Successful TUPE transfer managed start to finish
50%
Growth in one contact-centre operation delivered in 6 months, supported by the people strategy behind it
Multiple
Funding rounds and a B Corp renewal supported from the people side
Figures are anonymised, drawn from senior in-house HR roles that inform how Sow HR works today.
Selected Work
We built a people function from the ground up for a fast-growing business — onboarding, policies, HR systems and a full people roadmap — while supporting the company through multiple funding rounds and a B Corp renewal.
We led a redundancy consultation affecting 35 employees, managing the process fairly, compliantly and with care for those affected — with no tribunal claims arising.
We reduced one client's annual recruitment spend by £73,000 by moving from agency-reliant hiring to a direct, in-house sourcing approach — without lowering the quality of hire.
We managed a TUPE transfer from start to finish, keeping the process legally sound and the affected employees properly informed and supported throughout.
Common Questions
A few of the things people want to know before they get in touch. If your question isn't here, just ask.
An HR consultant gives your business the people expertise of an in-house HR team without the cost of hiring one. That covers the paperwork — employment contracts, staff handbooks and HR policies — and the harder human side too: recruitment, performance management, grievances, disciplinaries and restructures. At Sow HR we work as an extension of your team, so you get practical, plain-English advice whenever a people question comes up.
Yes. UK employment law applies from your very first employee. Every employee must receive a written statement of particulars on or before their first day, and you need clear policies covering discipline, grievance, holiday and sickness absence. Getting these right early is far cheaper than fixing a problem later, which is why so much of our work is with businesses hiring their first one to ten people.
Sow HR is based in Devon and works with businesses across the county, Somerset and the Bristol area. Much of our support is delivered remotely by phone, email and video call, so we also work with clients right across the UK.
It depends on what you need. One-off pieces of work — an employment contract, a staff handbook or support through a single disciplinary — are quoted as a fixed price so you know the cost upfront. If you'd like ongoing help, monthly retainer packages give you a set amount of HR support at a predictable cost. We'll always give you a clear quote before any work starts, so there are no surprises.
Yes. Employee relations is one of the most common reasons businesses get in touch. We'll help you follow a fair and lawful process in line with the Acas Code of Practice — from investigation and evidence gathering through to hearings, outcome letters and appeals — so the situation is handled properly and your risk of a tribunal claim is reduced.
Yes. Sow HR is led by an Associate member of the CIPD who holds an MA in Human Resource Management, backed by more than 15 years' experience leading in-house people functions. We work with businesses of all sizes, from start-ups hiring their first employee to established companies navigating growth and change.
Yes. We regularly support businesses through restructures, redundancy programmes and other HR projects that need careful handling. That includes planning the timeline, preparing selection criteria and consultation documents, guiding you through collective and individual consultation, and making sure the process is properly documented from start to finish.
Yes. Sow HR takes on associate work for independent HR consultants and consultancies — overflow during busy periods, project delivery, holiday cover or specialist input on a case. It is delivered discreetly, under your brand and to your process. There is more detail on the support for HR consultants page.
Get in touch by email at [email protected] or call 07725 696918 and we'll come back to you quickly — HR problems rarely wait. Retainer clients get priority access, but any business is welcome to make contact about an urgent issue.
Free & no obligation
No long-term tie-in, no sales pitch — just a straightforward conversation about what's going on in your business, from a team with 15+ years of in-house HR leadership behind them.
Book a discovery callPrefer to write first? Send a message and we'll come back to you quickly.
Get in Touch
Whether you have a specific HR challenge or just want to explore how an outsourced HR consultant could help your business, we'd love to hear from you.