Leave cover
An HR manager on maternity, parental or extended leave, with live issues that cannot wait for their return.
Extra hands when you need them
Interim HR support for as long as it takes
Sometimes you do not need a permanent HR hire. You need experienced HR people to bridge a gap, run a project, or take pressure off a stretched team for a while. PurpleTree provides interim and flexible HR support that slots into your business for as long as the situation calls for, then steps back when it closes.
Not every gap calls for a permanent hire.
When Irish Employers Need Interim HR
Not every HR need is a permanent one. Often the function is working well and simply has a gap to bridge, a project that needs specialist hands, or a busy spell the existing team cannot absorb. Interim and flexible HR support gives you experienced Irish HR people for exactly as long as the situation calls for.
It is the practical middle ground when hiring a permanent HR person is more than you need, but carrying the work yourself is more than you can manage. Most of these situations are among the HR challenges Irish SMEs meet most often.
A sudden departure
An HR person has left and the role will take months to fill, leaving cases and compliance work unattended.
A defined project
A restructure, redundancy programme, TUPE transfer or workplace investigation that needs capacity for a fixed window.
A stretched team
A growing business whose HR person or office manager is at capacity and needs extra hands through a busy period.
Specialist help exactly where it is missing.
We Augment Your HR, We Do Not Take It Over
Interim support is built around the function you already have, not in place of it. Where you have an HR person, an office manager carrying HR alongside other duties, or a leadership team handling it directly, we add specialist capacity exactly where it is missing.
We pick up the work there is no time for, advise on the cases that fall outside your team's experience, and keep your obligations under Irish employment law current while your people focus on what they do best.
When the gap closes or the project lands, we step back. If you would rather hand the whole function over on an ongoing basis, our outsourced HR service covers that instead.
- Specialist capacity, not a takeoverExperienced HR people added alongside your existing team, working to your priorities.
- The work there is no time to reachWe carry the casework and admin a stretched team cannot get to.
- Cases outside your in-house experienceSpecialist advice on the complex matters that fall outside your team's day-to-day.
- A clean handover at the endWhen the engagement closes, your team picks up a documented, orderly file.
Keep things running when someone steps away.
Interim Cover for Leave and Departures
The most common reason employers bring us in is a gap that cannot be left open. An HR manager going on maternity or parental leave leaves day-to-day issues that still need handling, and a sudden departure can leave live cases, contracts and compliance work with nobody to own them.
We step in for the duration: advice on disciplinaries, grievances and absence, contract and policy work, and any matters already in progress. We agree the scope and the handover at the start and again at the end, so a returning manager or a new hire picks up a clean, well-documented file rather than a backlog.
Where a deadline is already running, such as a disciplinary in progress or a response due to the Workplace Relations Commission, we prioritise it from the first call.
- Cover scoped around the leave period or the gap until you rehire
- Day-to-day advice on disciplinaries, grievances and absence
- Live cases carried through without losing momentum
- Structured handover back to your returning manager or new hire
A defined piece of work, no ongoing tie.
Project Support, Scoped and Delivered
Some HR needs are a project rather than an ongoing commitment. A redundancy programme has to be run correctly to stay defensible, a TUPE transfer carries strict consultation and information duties, a workplace investigation needs an impartial hand, and a contract and handbook overhaul takes time your team may not have.
We scope the piece of work, agree the fee in writing before we start, and deliver it without tying you to an ongoing retainer. Our guide to the redundancy process and our investigation guide set out how carefully these need to be handled. If you want continuing support afterwards we can arrange it, though there is no obligation to.
- Redundancy and restructure programmes run to a defensible process
- TUPE transfers managed through the consultation and information duties
- Impartial workplace investigations and disciplinary support
- Contract, handbook and policy overhauls delivered to current Irish law
You draw on a team, not one person.
What Flexible HR Support Covers
Interim and project support spans the same ground a strong in-house HR function would, drawn on only for the part you need. Whether that is a single project or full cover for a period, you draw on a team rather than one person's skill set, across employment law, contracts, casework and systems. We assess what is live, what is at risk, and where the pressure actually sits, then cover exactly that.
Day-to-day HR advice
Practical guidance on the people issues that land each week, from absence to performance to conduct.
Contracts and policies
Employment contracts, staff handbooks and policies drafted or updated to current Irish law.
Disciplinary and grievance
Support through disciplinary and grievance processes so they stay fair and properly documented.
Redundancy and TUPE
Restructures, redundancy programmes and TUPE transfers handled through the correct statutory steps.
Investigations and projects
Workplace investigations and defined HR projects run to a clear scope and timeline.
HR software and systems
HR:Duo set up and configured so records, leave and compliance stay in order during and after cover.
More hands for the busy spell, then back down.
Extra Capacity When Your Team Is Stretched
Growth rarely arrives evenly. A hiring surge, a busy season, or a cluster of difficult cases can stretch a capable HR person or office manager well past what one role can carry. Flexible support gives you extra hands for the stretch without adding permanent headcount you will not need once it eases.
We can take the routine administration off your team, handle a specific cluster of cases, or bring specialist depth on something like pay and reward or manager training that sits outside their day-to-day. You scale support up for the busy spell and back down when it passes.
- Extra hands through hiring surges and busy seasons
- Routine HR administration lifted off a stretched team
- Specialist depth on projects outside their day-to-day
- Support scaled up for the spell, then back down again
Decades of local know-how behind every engagement.
Scoped Support, Irish Expertise, Based in Longford
PurpleTree is an Irish HR consultancy based in Longford, serving employers across Ireland. Our team brings over 60 years of combined Irish employment law experience, so interim cover and project work are grounded in Irish law and WRC practice rather than adapted from a UK playbook.
Interim cover is arranged on a monthly basis for the duration of the gap, and projects are scoped and agreed in writing before we begin, so you see the cost in advance instead of an open-ended hourly bill after the fact.
If you also want the HR:Duo software in place, the Time and Attendance tier starts from €8 per employee per month and the full HRIS from €14 per employee per month. Whichever way you work with us, you deal with a named consultant who knows your business. Compare the levels on our pricing page before you decide.
- 60+ years of combined Irish employment law experience across the team
- Interim cover arranged monthly for the length of the gap
- Projects scoped and agreed in writing before they start
- A named consultant who knows your business throughout
Need cover, not a permanent hire?
Tell us what is happening: a leave gap, a departure, a project, or a team under pressure. We will scope the right level of interim or flexible support and agree it in writing before we start. Compare the levels on our pricing page, 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
Interim HR is short-term or project-based HR cover that slots into your business for a defined period rather than as a permanent function. Irish employers typically need it when an HR manager goes on maternity or parental leave, when an HR person leaves and the role takes months to fill, when a one-off piece of work such as a restructure or redundancy programme needs specialist hands, or when a growing team is stretched and needs extra capacity for a busy spell. PurpleTree provides the cover for as long as the situation calls for and steps back when the gap closes.
Yes. Leave cover is one of the most common reasons employers bring us in. We pick up the day-to-day: advice on disciplinaries, grievances and absence, contract and policy work, and any live cases that cannot wait for your manager to return. We agree the scope and the handover at the start and again at the end, so your returning manager picks up a clean, well-documented file. The duration is set around the leave period rather than tied to a long-term retainer.
For interim cover and live issues we move quickly. We start with a short call and an HR health check to understand your headcount, contracts and any open matters, and day-to-day support is generally available within days rather than weeks. Where a deadline is already running, such as a WRC response or a disciplinary in progress, tell us at the first call and we prioritise it.
Outsourced HR is an ongoing arrangement for businesses with no HR function of their own, where we act as your complete HR team month to month on a fixed fee. Interim and flexible support is built around a temporary gap or a defined project: maternity cover, a departure, a restructure, or extra capacity for a stretched in-house team. The work is scoped to the period or the project, and we scale back when it ends. Many employers start with interim support and move to an ongoing retainer if it suits them. See our outsourced HR service for the ongoing model.
Yes. Defined projects are a core part of what we do: a redundancy programme, a TUPE transfer, a workplace investigation, a full contract and handbook overhaul, or a WRC case that has landed. We scope the piece of work, agree the fee in writing before we start, and deliver it without committing you to an ongoing retainer. If you later want continuing support we can move to a monthly arrangement, but there is no obligation to.
It depends on whether you need interim cover for a period or a one-off project, and on your headcount and the issues live at the time. Interim cover is generally arranged on a monthly basis for the duration of the gap, and projects are scoped and quoted in writing before we begin, so there is no open-ended hourly billing. If you also want the HR:Duo software, the Time and Attendance tier starts from €8 per employee per month and the full HRIS from €14 per employee per month. See how we price HR support for the detail.
Yes, and often that is the point. Where you have an HR person, or an office manager handling HR alongside other duties, we add specialist capacity rather than taking over. We carry the work they do not have time for, advise on the cases outside their experience, and free them to focus on the people-facing work that matters most. We agree clearly at the start who owns what, so nothing falls between us.
We hand back a clean, well-documented file and brief whoever is picking the work up, whether that is a returning manager, a new hire, or you. There is no automatic rollover into a long-term contract. If you want to keep some level of support in place, we can agree an ongoing retainer or move you onto the HR:Duo software so your records and processes stay in good order. The choice is yours.