Policies, Handbooks & People admin
Most “HR headaches” at SME level aren’t complex HR cases — they’re the day-to-day admin: starters, contracts, policies, holidays and keeping records up to date.
From £2.50 per employee / month — add-on to Essentials or Complete, keeping people records and payroll joined up.
Overview
Our People Admin add-on gives you practical first-line support to keep everything organised and payroll-ready, without needing a full HR department.
What this is — and what it isn’t
This is people admin and templates that support payroll and good housekeeping.
We’ll absolutely give you our practical thoughts day-to-day, but if something is complex or higher risk (disciplinary, grievances, tribunals), we’ll point you to a specialist.
The software behind it (BrightPay Connect)
We use BrightPay + BrightPay Connect to keep the admin smooth and joined-up:
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Employees can access key documents and payroll documents in one place.
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Holiday requests can be submitted and approved online, with balances updating and a company calendar for visibility.
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Contracts, policies and HR documents can be shared securely, and you can track who has viewed key documents.
What we help with (first-line admin)
Onboarding & staff records
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Starter checklists and key details captured correctly
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Keeping employee details up to date (so payroll isn’t chasing info every month)
Contracts & documents (templates + updates)
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Contract templates issued for new starters
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Updates for changes to role / hours / pay
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Keeping your key documents stored and accessible
Handbooks & basic policies
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Simple handbook and the core policies most SMEs need (holiday, sickness, expenses)
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Version updates when you make changes, with clear communication to staff
Holidays & absence tracking
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Holiday set up and ongoing tracking
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Requests and approvals handled simply, with visibility of cover via a shared calendar
How it works
Why Choose Harbour?
People Admin works because it sits inside your payroll service, not alongside it. Your employee records, holiday balances and contract details are all connected to the same process that runs payroll each month — so nothing falls through the gap between HR and finance. It’s not a standalone tool or a separate relationship to manage. It just keeps everything tidy, in one place, with one point of contact.
Frequently Asked Questions
People Admin sits in a space that can feel unclear — not quite payroll, not quite HR. These are the questions we hear most often from SME owners trying to work out whether it’s right for them
Yes — it’s designed for SMEs. Even with a handful of employees, having contracts, holidays and records properly organised saves time and reduces risk. The pricing reflects that it’s a small-team service.
Very little. The setup call takes around 30 minutes to go through what you already have and what’s missing. After that it runs alongside payroll each month with minimal input from you.
Absolutely. We’ll review what you have, flag anything that needs updating, and take over the ongoing maintenance from there.
Yes. Through BrightPay Connect, employees submit requests online, you approve them, and balances update automatically. You also get a shared calendar so you can see cover at a glance.
We’ll run through a starter checklist, make sure the right details are captured for payroll, issue the contract, and get them set up on BrightPay Connect so they can access payslips and documents from day one.
Yes — People Admin is an add-on to either our Essentials or Complete Payroll service. It’s designed to sit alongside payroll so everything stays joined up.
People Admin covers the day-to-day housekeeping — contracts, onboarding, holiday tracking, basic policies. It keeps everything organised and payroll-ready. It’s not HR advice or case management. If something complex comes up (disciplinary, grievance, tribunal), we’ll tell you clearly and point you to the right specialist.
