Compliant from day one
Contracts, policies and a staff handbook that meet Irish employment law from your first hire.
HR without the full-time hire
The essential HR services every Irish SME needs
Most small businesses in Ireland cannot justify a full-time HR Manager, yet the same employment law obligations apply whether you employ five people or fifty. PurpleTree gives Irish SMEs the essential HR foundations: compliant contracts and policies, a real expert to call when something difficult lands, and the HR:Duo software to run it all. Practical support that keeps you on the right side of the Workplace Relations Commission without the overhead of an in-house hire.
You are covered from your very first hire.
HR Support Built Around Irish Small Businesses
Irish employment law does not scale with your headcount. The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, the Organisation of Working Time Act, and the wider body of WRC-enforced legislation apply from your first employee, not your fiftieth.
Most small businesses run HR through a senior manager or an office manager who has picked it up alongside everything else, which works until a disciplinary issue, a sick leave dispute, or a WRC complaint arrives. PurpleTree gives small businesses across Ireland the essential foundations to handle people properly: compliant contracts and an employee handbook, expert advice when you need it, and software to run the day to day.
If you want a full function rather than the essentials, our outsourced HR retainer covers everything; if you already have an HR person who needs specialist back-up, HR resource reallocation augments your team. Read our overview of the biggest HR challenges facing Irish SMEs.
An expert on call
A real HR specialist to call when something difficult lands, grounded in Irish law and your situation.
Software included
The HR:Duo platform for leave, records and compliance comes with every package.
Clear, consistent guidance your managers can act on.
HR Policies, Procedures & Handbook
We design people-friendly HR policies and procedures (your employee handbook) that guide your team with clarity and keep you fully aligned with Irish employment law. From absence management to disciplinary processes, your managers will have the frameworks to act fairly and consistently.
Compliant
Stay aligned with Irish employment legislation.
Consistent
Bring clarity and consistency across the organisation.
Trusted
Build trust with fair, transparent policies.
The cheapest protection your business can buy.
Employment Contracts
We draft and review employment contracts that comply with the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts and wider employment law. From fixed-term and part-time agreements to probation clauses and post-termination restrictive covenants, every contract is built to protect your business and provide clarity for your people. A simple review often surfaces gaps that would otherwise hand a complainant an easy WRC case, so it is the cheapest piece of protection a small business can put in place.
- Ensure contracts comply with the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts
- Cover fixed-term, part-time, and permanent agreements
- Include enforceable probation and restrictive covenant clauses
Clear answers when something difficult lands.
A Real HR Expert to Call On
If you are the senior manager who somehow ended up responsible for HR on top of everything else, or you have an HR person who occasionally needs expert back-up, you will know the feeling.
An employee raises something difficult on a Friday afternoon and you are not certain what you are supposed to do next. PurpleTree gives you a real HR expert to call on: clear, practical advice in plain language, grounded in Irish employment law and tailored to your situation.
If you have no HR resource at all, our outsourced HR service puts a full function behind you on a fixed monthly fee. Where you already have someone in place who needs specialist support now and then, HR resource reallocation augments your team only when it is needed.
- Get straightforward answers to day-to-day HR questions, leave, absence, performance, and more
- Know exactly how to handle sensitive or tricky employee situations before they escalate
- Stay on top of changes to Irish employment law without having to follow it yourself
- Have a trusted expert review letters, policies, and contracts before they go out
Effortless HR admin, included as standard.
Our Software (HR:Duo)
HR:Duo is our intelligent HR software, included with every PurpleTree package. It automates leave management, centralises digital document storage, and gives employees self-service access to payslips, policies, and time tracking. With built-in compliance dashboards and a mobile app, HR administration becomes effortless. If you want the software on its own, our HR software service offers the time and attendance tier from €8 per employee per month and the full HRIS from €14, set up and supported by our team.
- Automate leave management and absence tracking
- Centralise employee documents with secure digital storage
- Access compliance dashboards and employee self-service on any device
Navigate the hardest cases with confidence.
Investigation, Disciplinary & Dismissal Processes
Facing a grievance, disciplinary issue, or redundancy is one of the most challenging moments in any employer's journey. Get it wrong and you are exposed to costly unfair dismissal claims and serious reputational damage. Get it right, with PurpleTree by your side, and you can navigate even the most sensitive situations with confidence and compliance. Where a matter looks likely to escalate, our investigation, disciplinary and dismissal service takes the process off your desk entirely.
With PurpleTree by your side, difficult decisions don't have to mean sleepless nights.
- Navigate grievance and disciplinary procedures that are legally sound
- Conduct fair, compliant dismissals and redundancies that stand up to scrutiny
- Reduce your exposure to unfair dismissal and wrongful termination claims
- Protect your reputation and ensure due process at every stage
Employee data handled lawfully and securely.
GDPR Compliance
We help Irish SMEs meet their obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and EU GDPR. From drafting data protection policies and handling subject access requests to managing breach notification procedures, our team ensures your employee data handling is fully compliant. Need ongoing support? Ask about our DPO services.
- Draft and maintain GDPR-compliant data protection policies
- Handle subject access requests and breach notifications
- Ensure lawful processing of employee personal data
Spot the gaps before a claim does.
WRC Compliance
Most employment disputes don't come out of nowhere, the warning signs were there long before a WRC complaint landed in your inbox. The real question is whether you spotted them in time.
PurpleTree helps you get ahead of the problem. We review your contracts, policies, and employment practices to find the gaps before they become grievances, claims, or headlines. Think of it as a health check for your business, one that could save you thousands in legal costs and months of management headaches. For deeper, ongoing protection, see our WRC compliance service, and if a claim has already arrived our WRC representation team takes it over from the moment the notification lands.
- Are your contracts actually protecting you, or leaving you exposed?
- Could a current employee take a case against you right now?
- Are your policies up to date with Irish employment law?
Reward decisions you can confidently stand over.
Job Evaluation, Grading & Pay Transparency
Fair pay isn't just good practice, increasingly it is the law. With gender pay gap reporting and new pay transparency rules, you need a clear, consistent approach to how roles are valued and what people are paid. We build grading structures and pay frameworks that are fair, easy to explain, and able to withstand scrutiny, giving you confidence in your compensation decisions and keeping you on the right side of the law. For a full grading exercise or salary benchmarking, see our job evaluation and pay transparency service.
- Make sure every role is fairly valued using a clear, consistent approach
- Build pay structures you can confidently stand over and explain
- Meet your gender pay gap reporting obligations with solid foundations
- Attract and keep great people with transparent, competitive pay bands
A named consultant who knows your business.
Irish Employment Law Expertise, Based in Longford
PurpleTree is an Irish HR consultancy based in Longford, supporting small businesses across the country. Our team brings over 60 years of combined Irish employment law experience, so the advice you receive is grounded in Irish law and WRC practice rather than adapted from a UK playbook. We are not a franchise applying a generic template and hoping it fits your business.
When you call, you speak to a consultant who knows your contracts, your policies and your people, and who tells you clearly where you stand, including when the answer involves risk. As your needs grow, the same team can take on payroll, health and safety, or a full outsourced HR retainer.
- 60+ years of combined Irish employment law experience across the team
- Irish employment law and WRC practice, not an adapted UK approach
- A named consultant who knows your business, never a call centre
- Essentials now, with room to scale into payroll, health and safety or full outsourced HR
Get the essentials right
Put compliant contracts, policies and processes in place, with a real HR expert on call and the HR:Duo software included. We scope the elements your small business needs and give you the cost in advance. See our small business HR pricing, then talk it through with our team.
Free 5-minute HR Health Check
See where your business stands before the WRC does
Answer 40 straightforward questions on contracts, working time, pay, leave and policies, and get a clear read on where your compliance gaps sit and what to fix first.
Common questions from employers
Yes. Employment law obligations apply from your first employee, and the Workplace Relations Commission enforces them regardless of company size. A small business is often more exposed than a large one, because there is rarely a dedicated HR person to keep contracts current, run a fair disciplinary process, or respond to a complaint correctly. HR support gives you the documents and the expertise to handle people properly before a problem becomes a claim.
From your first employee. The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts require you to give core written terms within five days of starting and a full written statement within one month. Working time records, leave entitlements, a fair disciplinary procedure, and lawful handling of employee data all apply from day one. There is no small-employer exemption that lets you postpone them.
It depends on what you need. Standalone documents and projects are scoped and quoted in advance, and ongoing support is provided on a fixed monthly fee so you are not facing surprise invoices. The HR:Duo software is included with our packages, or available on its own from €8 per employee per month for time and attendance and €14 for the full HRIS. See how we price HR support and ask us for a tailored quote.
Compliant employment contracts and a staff handbook, HR policies and procedures kept current with Irish law, expert advice when a difficult situation arises, support with disciplinary, grievance and dismissal processes, GDPR and WRC compliance, and the HR:Duo software to run leave, records and time tracking. You take the elements you need rather than a fixed bundle.
You can take individual pieces. Many small businesses start with a contract and handbook review to find the gaps, then add advice or software later. We scope each piece of work and tell you plainly where you are exposed, so you decide what to address first.
Most disputes are predictable in hindsight. The warning signs, a missing contract clause, an out-of-date policy, an informal disciplinary process, are usually present long before a complaint is filed. Getting the essentials right while things are calm is far cheaper than defending a claim later. A short HR health check shows you where the gaps are before they become grievances.
Both. The HR:Duo platform handles the administration, and a real HR expert is available when you need advice on a specific situation. You are not left to interpret employment law on your own or routed through a call centre. When you call, you speak to someone who understands Irish employment law and your business.
Essential HR support gives you the foundations, contracts, policies, software and expert advice, taken as you need them. Outsourced HR is a complete HR function on a fixed monthly retainer for businesses with no in-house HR at all. HR resource reallocation augments an existing HR person with specialist back-up so your team can focus on higher-value work. We will help you pick the right level for your headcount and your situation.