HR resources for UK employers

Where to look when you need a straight answer

Most HR questions have a definitive UK answer somewhere on ACAS, GOV.UK, the HSE or the ICO. The problem is never that the guidance does not exist - it is that you are looking for it at half past four on a Friday with someone waiting on a reply.

So this page is a shortlist, not a directory. Every link below goes to a primary source or a recognised professional body, grouped by the problem you are trying to solve rather than by who published it.

Employment law and compliance

Start with ACAS. It is the closest thing to a plain-English authority on UK employment law, and tribunals take its Code of Practice into account. GOV.UK is the source of record for anything with a number attached - rates, thresholds, statutory minimums.

• ACAS Employment Law Guide (ACAS) - Comprehensive guide to UK employment law, rights, and responsibilities for employers and employees.
• HMRC PAYE Guidance (HMRC) - Official HMRC guidance on Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for employers including rates, thresholds, and procedures.
• Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy Template (ACAS) - Comprehensive guidance and templates for developing anti-bullying and harassment policies.
• Flexible Working Policy Templates (ACAS) - Guidance and templates for implementing flexible working arrangements.

Data protection and GDPR

Employment records are personal data, and a lot of them are special category data - health, sickness, occupational health referrals. The ICO is the regulator and its guide is the one to read before you write a retention policy.

• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) GDPR Guide (ICO) - Complete guide to GDPR compliance for businesses handling personal data.

Health, safety and wellbeing

The HSE writes for small businesses better than most regulators, and Mind is the reference most UK employers use for mental health at work.

• Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Workplace Guidelines (HSE) - Essential health and safety guidance for small and medium businesses to ensure workplace compliance.
• Equality and Human Rights Commission Guidelines (EHRC) - Guidance on equality, diversity, and human rights in the workplace.
• Mental Health at Work Guidelines (Mind) - Resources for supporting employee mental health and creating mentally healthy workplaces.

People management and best practice

This is the softer end - performance, recruitment, onboarding, and how other organisations have handled the same problems. Useful when you are designing a process rather than checking a rule.

• CIPD People Management Resources (CIPD) - Professional insights, research, and best practices from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
• Harvard Business Review HR Articles (Harvard Business Review) - Latest research and insights on people management, leadership, and organizational development.
• People Management Magazine (People Management) - Industry news, case studies, and expert advice on all aspects of people management.
• Performance Management Best Practices Guide (SHRM) - Comprehensive toolkit for implementing effective performance management systems.
• 360-Degree Feedback Implementation Guide (CIPD) - Best practices for implementing 360-degree feedback systems in organizations.
• Inclusive Recruitment Guide (EHRC) - Guidance on fair and inclusive recruitment practices to promote diversity.
• Employee Onboarding Best Practices (CIPD) - Research-backed strategies for effective employee onboarding and integration.
• Digital Transformation in HR Case Studies (CIPD) - Real-world examples of successful HR digital transformation initiatives.
• Remote Work Implementation Case Studies (McKinsey) - McKinsey insights on successful remote work implementations and organizational changes.

HR Henry's own free tools and guides

External guidance tells you the rule. These do the arithmetic, and they are free with no sign-up and no email gate.

Each one shows its working and cites the GOV.UK or ACAS source it applies, so you can check it or paste the reasoning into a note for your records.

• Holiday entitlement calculator - full-time, part-time, irregular hours, the 12.07% method and bank holidays by nation
• Statutory Sick Pay calculator - updated for the 2026/27 rules, after waiting days and the earnings threshold were abolished
• Working time and rest checker - the 48-hour average week, daily and weekly rest, and the 20-minute break
• Redundancy pay calculator - statutory pay from age, service and weekly pay, with the current cap applied
• Disciplinary procedures guide - how to follow the ACAS Code without tripping over it
• UK employment law guide - a regularly reviewed summary of the current position
• How long to keep employee records - every retention period and the rule it comes from
• What must be in a UK employment contract - the day-one written statement, in full
• Return to work interviews - what to ask, what to record, and what not to
• Notice periods in the UK - the statutory scale, and why it is not symmetrical

Keeping the records the guidance assumes you have

Nearly every link on this page assumes something you may not have: a complete, current, dated record of who works for you and what has happened to them. That is the bit guidance cannot give you.

It is also where most small employers come unstuck - not because they did the wrong thing, but because they cannot show what they did, or when. HR Henry keeps those records in one place, which is the point of it.

Frequently asked questions

Are these HR resources free?

Yes. Every external link goes to freely available guidance, and HR Henry's own calculators and guides are free to use with no sign-up and no email gate.

Do I need to be an HR Henry customer to use them?

No. Everything on this page is open to anyone. HR Henry customers get the same tools built into the software, applied to their own employee records.

How often are the links checked?

They are reviewed when this page is updated. External sites do reorganise, so if a link has moved, the search box on the source's own site is usually the fastest way to find the current version.

Which resource should I start with for UK employment law?

ACAS. It is the closest thing to a plain-English authority on UK employment law, and employment tribunals take its Code of Practice into account when deciding cases.

Where do I check statutory rates like sick pay or holiday?

GOV.UK is the source of record for anything with a number attached. HR Henry's free calculators apply those figures for you and cite the GOV.UK page each one comes from.