Sources of HR support and services

Sources of HR support

As an employer, you may find yourself trying to answer a number of questions around contracts of employment, employment policies, disciplinary procedure, staff benefits and staff training.

If you employ a personnel/human resources (HR) specialist, they will be able to assist you - but smaller voluntary organisations rarely have the luxury of being able to employ their own HR specialist.

Please note that NCVO does not endorse the use of any particular source of HR support; the decision on which resource to use is for individual voluntary organisations to take.

The following documents describe where you can go for free or paid-for help, on all aspects of employing people.

Sources of paid-for HR support (PDF, 106Kb)
Sources of free HR Support (PDF, 99Kb)
Organisations that can help you with your HR queries

Reports and briefings

Diversity resources for voluntary and community organisations (PDF, 300Kb). This resource is intended to help you find the diversity information you need to develop your organisation.
HR software in voluntary and community organisations (Microsoft Word format, 325 Kb).
Vetting and Barring Scheme and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (PDF, 112Kb). More information and contact numbers for the Independent Safeguarding Authority can be found on the DirectGov website.
Making Equality Simple (PDF, 2Mb) is a free publication which was produced in 2003 - the information therefore is quite dated, but the resources are still useful.

Learning and Skills

The Learning and Skills work previously undertaken by NCVO, has being carried forward by Skills - Third Sector. Skills - Third Sector is a sector-led, independent charity which helps ensure the Voluntary and Community Sector has the skills and learning it needs to do the best possible job. Find out more about Skills - Third Sector's work.

HR services by region

The resources below map the HR services available to voluntary and community organisations across England.

NCVO have developed these directories to help make it easier for voluntary and community sector employers to find the appropriate HR services at the local, regional or national level.

The entries in each directory will make clear how you can contact the service provider, their location and the geographical region(s) they serve.

Most importantly, each entry will identify the key HR services that each provider offers, so you are able to make informed decisions about which providers to contact.

To locate HR services near you, select your region below. National services are represented in each of the directories.