DLP — Direct Law & Personnel
Hands-On HR · Direct Law & Personnel

Hands-on HR, built forreal businesses.

Hands-On HR is not traditional outsourced HR. It is a modern, strategic HR & Employee Relations framework for businesses, charities and organisations that need commercially intelligent, hands-on support — without template-driven advice or reactive legal services.

Have an in-house HR team? Meet the HR5X System →

UnlimitedHands-on support — as much or as little as you need
12+ yrsAverage DLP experience of our Uniquely Trained Strategists
Not a call centreStrategic HR, never scripted helplines
Jude Fiddler, founder of DLP
DLPLed by HR strategist Jude Fiddler and a specialist Employee Relations team.
Supporting
  • Businesses
  • Charities & not-for-profit
  • Care & education
  • Regulated organisations
  • Multi-site employers
Why Hands-On HR exists

Most businesses don’t fail for lack of HR policies.

They struggle when difficult situations escalate too quickly — and nobody properly assesses the risk before decisions are made.

Traditional outsourced HR often relies on templates, generic advice, scripted helplines or overly cautious processes disconnected from operational reality. And legal advice alone is rarely enough.

Modern Employee Relations needs strategic HR thinking, legal awareness, commercial understanding and practical decision-making — together.

That is where Hands-On HR is different: real-world operational experience, applied to your actual situation, before it becomes a costly mistake.

  • Difficult situations escalate too quickly
  • Managers lack confidence
  • Investigations are poorly handled
  • Communication becomes emotional or unsafe
  • Advice is too slow or too theoretical
  • Nobody assesses risk before decisions are made
What makes Hands-On HR different

All HR situations are different. HR is about removing risk.

The difference between these can fundamentally change legal risk, cost, fairness and outcome — which is why we never work from one-size-fits-all templates.

CapabilityvsMisconduct
SicknessvsDisability
RedundancyvsRestructuring
GrievancevsProtected disclosure
ProcessvsStrategy

Every situation is assessed individually — the business, the people involved, operational pressures, commercial realities, legal exposure, culture and strategic risk.

12+Years average DLP experience of our
Uniquely Trained Strategists
The team behind Hands-On HR

Not a call centre. Seriously good HR — changing an industry.

Hands-On HR is delivered by an experienced Employee Relations and strategic HR team — not junior consultants, scripted helplines or generic template responses. That stability means our processes, risk analysis and decision-making strategy are inbuilt.

  • Strategic Employee Relations expertise
  • Operational HR leadership
  • Investigations & governance
  • Restructuring & organisational change
  • Complex dismissals & appeals
  • Hearing & panel management
  • Specialist, governance & judicial-level experience
  • Private & public sector environments
What Hands-On HR supports

Strategic and operational support across all of Employee Relations.

For day-to-day operational HR matters and highly sensitive strategic situations alike.

DisciplinariesGrievancesInvestigationsSickness absenceDisability & reasonable adjustmentsCapability concernsRestructures & redundanciesTUPE processesExecutive exitsAppealsWhistleblowingSafeguardingSettlement discussionsDifficult workplace relationshipsContracts & policiesHigh-risk dismissals
Unlimited hands-on support

As much, or as little, as you need.

Used on a retained basis, for specific projects, or through periods of organisational change and operational pressure.

Unlimited HR & Employment Law guidance

Practical, commercial answers in real time.

Unlimited strategy support

Risk assessed before decisions are made.

Drafting & document support

Allegations, outcomes, letters — crafted to the facts.

Email & communication crafting

Safe, calm, commercially considered wording.

Hearing & meeting support

Preparation, attendance and management.

Investigation support & reports

Professionally structured and defensible.

Independent hearing & appeal panels

Neutral, experienced chairs.

Redundancy & restructure support

Safe pools, consultation and TUPE.

Risk testing before dismissal

A safeguard before the decision is made.

The objective is simple: commercially safe HR support before issues escalate into significant legal, operational or reputational risk.

Request support
Who uses Hands-On HR

Built for businesses that need safe HR support, fast.

  • Businesses with a standalone HR manager or no in-house HR team
  • Growing & owner-managed businesses
  • Charities & not-for-profit organisations
  • Care & education providers
  • Regulated organisations
  • Organisations undergoing restructuring or change

Particularly valuable where…

  • Managers are struggling with difficult situations
  • There are concerns about legal risk
  • Internal relationships have broken down
  • HR processes have stalled or become unsafe
  • You simply need experienced strategic support
The difference with Hands-On HR

Businesses don’t need generic HR.

Most outsourced HR providers give you templates, policies, helplines or reactive advice.

Hands-On HR provides support that understands how organisations actually operate:

  • Strategy
  • Operational understanding
  • Commercially intelligent support
  • Safer investigations
  • Stronger drafting
  • Governance protection
  • Independent oversight
  • Practical HR leadership

Support that understands risk, governance and operational pressure — and how businesses actually work.

What our clients say

Not traditional outsourced HR.

Hands-On HR fundamentally changed the way we approached difficult employee relations situations. The strategic thinking, speed and confidence behind the advice gave our senior leadership reassurance during extremely high-risk situations.

CEO · National organisation

As an experienced HR team, we believed our processes were safe. What became clear quickly was that we were missing strategic risk issues our managers hadn’t been trained to identify.

COO · Multi-site employer

We brought Hands-On HR in during an extremely difficult restructuring period and honestly could not have managed without them. Fast, calm, commercially realistic support.

Operations Director · Care sector

The difference with Hands-On HR is they don’t give generic HR answers. Every situation is analysed strategically and commercially. They understand risk, governance and how businesses actually work.

Managing Director · SME group

Quick, responsive, reliable and genuinely impressive. The support we received during a complex employee dispute probably saved us from a very expensive mistake.

Chair · Charity leadership board

The team gave our managers confidence during situations we would previously have escalated externally. It feels like having a specialist strategic ER function whenever we need it.

Operations Manager · National employer
Request support

Let’s talk about your situation.

Tell us what you’re facing. We’ll arrange a short, confidential introductory discussion and the right hands-on support — as much or as little as you need.

Commercially safe HR support, before escalation
  • Unlimited hands-on HR & Employee Relations support
  • Independent investigations & hearing panels
  • Strategic, commercially intelligent decisions

Handled in confidence. Hands-On HR works alongside your managers, leadership and, where relevant, your in-house legal and insurers.