HR Consultant
Are you a hands-on HR generalist who loves getting stuck in and making things happen? Join People Pillar, an award-winning HR consultancy supporting SMEs with pragmatic, people-first HR that keeps businesses compliant, confident, and moving forward.
Your purpose in this role is simple: to make sure our clients’ employee lifecycle runs smoothly, compliantly, and with minimal hassle, covering everything from onboarding and contracts to ER casework, drafting clear policies and documents, and supporting on practical HR projects when needed.
Role at a glance
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 37 hours/week, Monday - Friday
Salary: £35,000 - £40,000 (DOE)
Location: Home-based, but you need to be Kent-based
Travel: Typically 1-2 days per month to client sites/team days, with occasional travel to London
About People Pillar
People Pillar is a small, friendly HR consultancy with big dreams. We’re proud to be award-winning and known for outstanding service, straight-talking advice, and helping clients avoid costly HR mistakes. Based in Hythe, Kent, we support clients across a range of sectors including tech, retail, charities, creative and sustainability.
What you’ll be doing
In this varied, generalist role you’ll:
*Support clients as their main HR contact, providing prompt, pragmatic support via phone/email/Teams and occasional on-site visits
*Support the employee lifecycle end-to-end, including:
*Recruitment: job descriptions, interview processes, selection advice
*Onboarding: contracts, new starter processes, induction support
*Performance: probation reviews, appraisals, performance management
*Employee relations: investigations, disciplinaries, grievances, restructures and short/long-term absence
*Confidently calculate statutory/enhanced holiday entitlement (including part-time, irregular hours and family leave scenarios)
*Engagement & retention: practical ideas to improve culture and keep great people
*Offboarding: resignations, redundancy support and exit processes
*Maintain accurate records and support clients using Breathe HR
*Prepare HR documentation and packs to support casework and outcomes (e.g. letters, meeting paperwork, liaising with relevant parties as needed)
*Create and improve HR documentation: policies, procedures, employer guides and templates
*Support HR projects aligned to client needs
*Pitch in as a team: we’re small, we’re passionate about great service, and we help each other to get the job done
What you’ll bring (must-haves)
*CIPD Level 5 qualified (or equivalent experience)
*Strong generalist HR experience across the employee lifecycle, especially in employee relations
*Solid understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice, including the upcoming changes
*Confident advising managers at different levels
*Excellent written and verbal communication
*Highly organised, detail-focused, and comfortable juggling multiple clients (this way of working isn’t for everyone)
*A practical, analytical mindset - able to assess situations, identify risks, and give clear, actionable advice.
*Tech-confident & AI-curious - you don’t just "use" tech, you lean into it. You’re confident picking up new tools/systems, happy to experiment, and not afraid of breaking something in the process. You actively seek smarter, faster ways of working and are excited about how AI can enhance our processes. You don’t wait to be shown - you explore, test and suggest better approaches. Experience with Breathe HR is a bonus.
What you’ll get
*25 days holiday + bank holidays
*Extra day off for your birthday
*Bonus incentives
*Reward Gateway
*Ongoing training and development
*We’ll plant a tree to offset carbon for each team member
*Optional cuddles with Ralph and Nelly (office dogs)
Our Values
At People Pillar, our values are at the heart of everything we do and will guide us through our recruitment process. We believe that aligning with these principles is key to our success:
*Embrace positivity and humour - Embrace challenges with a positive attitude and use humour to make tough situations more manageable.
*Be genuine and honest - Be human and honest in all interactions.
*Deliver outstanding work - Consistently aim for excellence, producing fabulous results in everything you do.
*Act practically and be commercial - Approach situations with practical solutions while maintaining a focus on business success.
If these values resonate with you and you tick the boxes above, we would love to hear from you!
Are you ready to help business owners sleep peacefully at night?
To Apply: Please click the apply button below to send us your CV and a short overview of why you think you would be fabulous (max one page).
Interviews may be held as applications come in, so we encourage you to get your application in early.
Our Commitment to Diversity
At People Pillar, we recognise the value of a diverse team and encourage applications from people with varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. We want all candidates to shine in this process - please let us know if there’s anything we can do to make the application process work for you.
REF-226 942