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THE prospect of getting to grips with employment law is enough to send shivers down the spine of many experienced businesses, let alone the small firms that may be struggling to keep up with human resources issues.

Now a new outsourced business has started that aims to help firms navigate this tricky world more safely.

HR Dept South Buckinghamshire offers human resources support for businesses in the Wycombe, Amersham and Chesham area.

Margaret Keane, company director, explained why she thought the service would be valuable to businesses. She said: "A lot of small companies are coming to the realisation that they do need some form of documentation in place, regardless of size.

"I'm doing a lot of work with companies with one to five employees. And then there are larger companies that often need to provide handbooks as well, especially if you have more than one site."

The service, based in Aylesbury, plans to help with a range of issues, including recruitment, contracts and handbooks, performance management systems, absence management, training and development, redundancy and dismissals.

Miss Keane, who has worked in HR for around 20 years, said that she had not encountered any major traps that companies had slipped into so far.

She said: "A lot of the companies I have come across have been very fair minded. It's just that they want to get things a bit tighter.

"As we take on more people the formality of the business tends to increase, so you need to have some more procedures, concerning sickness and holiday, for instance, so it's fair to everybody."

The business will offer a telephone service for clients who might want extensive advice throughout their operation's lifespan, or a pay as you go service for firms who only need more specific advice.

Miss Keane said: "I think if you have a smaller business, like an IT consultant, you are generally into it because you like IT.

"You may not want to deal with HR, but to grow your business you can't do it on your own - you need to employ people.

"We do the bits of the job that owners and managers do not have to do."

9:00am Monday 21st April 2008

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