Employment law advice
Day-to-day and complex Irish employment law questions answered by specialists, not a generic helpline.
An HR department without the headcount
Your complete outsourced HR function
Most Irish SMEs cannot justify a full-time HR Manager. But employment law obligations, contracts, disciplinary issues and WRC exposure do not go away because you have 30 employees instead of 300. Outsourced HR from PurpleTree gives you a complete HR function on a fixed monthly fee, so you are always covered without the overhead of an in-house hire.
Everything one in-house hire would miss.
Everything a Full HR Function Covers
Outsourced HR in Ireland gives you a full HR function without a full-time hire. An Irish HR Manager earns €45,000 to €65,000 before employer PRSI, pension, and benefits, and you still get one person's knowledge: useful, but not always sufficient when a WRC claim arrives, a redundancy needs managing, or a disciplinary case runs into legal complexity.
PurpleTree's outsourced HR service gives you a team that covers employment law, contracts, payroll, WRC representation, health and safety, and HR software under a single fixed monthly fee. It is not a call centre. You get a named consultant who knows your business.
Contracts and policies
Employment contracts, staff handbooks and HR policies drafted to current Irish law and updated as legislation changes.
WRC representation
If a claim is filed, we manage the case from submission to hearing. You are never dealing with the WRC alone.
HR software included
HR:Duo HRIS platform for leave management, employee records, compliance tracking and digital contracts.
Stop a small oversight becoming a claim.
The Obligations We Keep You On Top Of
Irish employment law sets a long list of obligations that apply from the first employee, not the fiftieth, and most WRC claims start with one of them being missed. Outsourced HR keeps every one current so a small oversight does not become a claim. We handle the documents, the records and the renewals, and tell you plainly where you are exposed. See the full employment law and health and safety scope, or read our overview of the biggest HR challenges facing Irish SMEs.
Written terms on time
Core terms within five days and a full written statement within one month, as the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts require.
Handbook and policies
A current staff handbook and the policies, from absence to dignity at work, that a fair process depends on.
Working time records
Hours, rest breaks, annual leave and public holidays recorded properly, the records a WRC inspector asks for first.
GDPR and data
Employee data handled lawfully, with the consents and retention rules an SME is still bound by.
One salary, a whole team of specialists.
What You Get for Your Budget
A full-time Irish HR Manager at €50,000 a year gives you one person's skill set. Employment law is a specialism. Payroll compliance is a specialism. WRC advocacy is a specialism. No single hire covers all three with the depth you need.
An outsourced HR retainer with PurpleTree gives you a team that does: employment law consultants, IPASS-certified payroll professionals, and WRC representatives, all working within your monthly fee. Complex cases and one-off projects such as WRC hearings, redundancy programmes, or workplace investigations are scoped and quoted in advance in writing. See full outsourced HR pricing before you commit.
- Named consultant dedicated to your account, not a rotating help desk
- Access to employment law, payroll and WRC expertise in one relationship
- Fixed monthly fee with project work quoted separately and in writing
- IPASS-certified payroll professionals if payroll is included in your retainer
- HR:Duo software at no additional platform cost
Takes the people problems off your desk.
Built for Irish SMEs Without a Dedicated HR Function
Outsourced HR works best for Irish businesses between 5 and 150 employees that have no dedicated HR person, or have an office manager doing HR alongside three other jobs.
If you have experienced a disciplinary case you were not sure how to handle, a sick leave situation that dragged on, or a letter from the WRC that sat on your desk for a week before you knew what to do, this is exactly what outsourced HR removes from your week.
It also works for businesses that are growing and know the complexity of people management is catching up with them before they have the headcount to justify a full-time hire.
- No existing HR functionYou handle HR yourself or through an office manager. Outsourcing gives you a professional team from day one.
- Rapid headcount growthYou are hiring fast enough that people issues are appearing before you have the structure to manage them.
- Recent WRC exposureYou have dealt with a WRC claim or a difficult disciplinary case and want proper processes in place going forward.
- Predictable HR costYou want to know what HR costs every month without unexpected solicitor invoices arriving mid-case.
Up and running from a single call.
The PurpleTree Outsourced HR Model
We start with a short onboarding call to understand your business: headcount, sector, existing contracts and policies, and any open issues you are already managing. From there, your named consultant is available by phone and email for day-to-day employment law questions. Contracts are reviewed or drafted.
HR policies and your employee handbook are written or updated. The HR:Duo platform is set up for your team. If a disciplinary issue arises, we advise on the correct process, attend any hearings where needed, and document everything properly. If a WRC claim arrives, we take it over immediately.
Your retainer covers the day-to-day. Standalone projects are scoped and priced separately, in writing, before we start. See our employment law services for the full scope of what we cover, and our outsourced payroll service if you need payroll bundled with HR.
- Onboarding call and initial HR health check included
- Named consultant for day-to-day advice by phone and email
- Contract review, drafting and ongoing updates
- HR:Duo platform setup and ongoing access
- Disciplinary, grievance and absence management support
- WRC claim management and representation (project-based, scoped and quoted in advance)
You see every cost in advance.
What Your Monthly Retainer Covers, and What Is Scoped Separately
Transparency on cost is the point of outsourcing, so we are clear about where the line sits. Your fixed monthly retainer covers the day-to-day: unlimited employment-law advice by phone and email, contract and policy drafting and updates, disciplinary, grievance and absence support, and your HR:Duo platform.
Larger, defined pieces of work, such as a contested WRC hearing, a redundancy programme, or a full workplace investigation, are scoped and quoted in writing before they begin.
For retainer clients these projects are often covered within the agreed level of support; either way you see the cost in advance, never as an open-ended hourly bill after the fact. Compare the levels on our pricing page.
- Included every month: unlimited phone and email employment-law advice
- Included: contract and handbook drafting, reviews and legislative updates
- Included: disciplinary, grievance and absence guidance, with the HR:Duo platform
- Scoped and quoted in advance: WRC hearings, redundancy programmes, investigations
- No open-ended hourly billing and no surprise invoices, whichever applies
Grounded in Irish law, not a UK template.
Irish Employment Law 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, which means the advice you receive is grounded in Irish law and WRC practice, not adapted from a UK playbook.
We are not a franchise model and not a one-size template approach. When you call us, you speak to the consultant who knows your business. We do not pass you between departments. We do not apply a generic policy and hope it fits.
We advise on what your business specifically needs and tell you clearly what the legal position is. If the answer involves risk, we tell you that too. You can also see how the outsourced HR model fits into a broader view of health and safety obligations or WRC compliance for businesses at different stages.
- 60+ years of combined Irish employment law experience across the team
- IPASS-certified payroll professionals for employers who need payroll included
- Named consultant who knows your business, not a rotating team
- Transparent pricing with no open-ended hourly billing
Get a quote for outsourced HR
Tell us your headcount, sector, and what you are currently handling yourself. We will scope the right level of support and give you a fixed monthly fee. No obligation. See outsourced HR pricing for an idea of what a retainer covers, then talk to us about your business specifically.
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
PurpleTree works on a fixed monthly fee scoped to your headcount and the level of cover you need, so there are no hourly bills and no surprise invoices mid-month. It is a fraction of the cost of a full-time HR manager, who earns €45,000 to €65,000 before employer PRSI, pension and benefits. See how we price HR support and ask us for a tailored quote.
Compliant employment contracts and a staff handbook, unlimited day-to-day advice on disciplinaries, grievances and absence, WRC and redundancy support, health and safety, and the HR:Duo software to run it all. In short, everything an in-house HR function would do, delivered by a team rather than a single hire.
For most SMEs, yes. A single HR manager gives you one person's skill set, and employment law, payroll and WRC advocacy are each their own specialism. An outsourced retainer gives you all three in one relationship for less than the cost of one salary, scaling up only when you need it.
We start with a short onboarding call and an HR health check to understand your headcount, contracts and any open issues. Day-to-day advice is available from week one, and we work through contracts, policies and the HR:Duo setup on an agreed plan from there.
Yes. The HR:Duo platform for leave, records, digital contracts and compliance is included in your retainer. If you only want the software, the Time and Attendance tier starts from €8 per employee per month and the full HRIS from €14 per employee per month. See our HR software service.
It suits Irish businesses from roughly 5 to 150 employees that have no dedicated HR person, or an office manager doing HR alongside several other jobs. It is also for fast-growing firms whose people issues are arriving before they have the headcount to justify a full-time hire.
Unlimited day-to-day employment-law advice is part of your retainer. If a claim is filed, we manage and represent it; depending on the level of cover agreed, this is either included in your monthly fee or scoped and quoted in advance, with no open-ended hourly billing either way. See WRC representation.
A named consultant who knows your business. We are not a rotating help desk and we do not pass you between departments. When you call, you speak to the person who already knows your contracts, your people and your open issues.