Fractional HR · senior HR leadership, part of the week

What is fractional HR? the people function, part of the week

Fractional HR means a senior HR professional holds the people seat for part of the week.

A fractional HR leader runs the function in full for their days: the contracts and policies, employee relations, pay, hiring and the people side of change.

They report to the CEO or the leadership team and are accountable for results, which is what separates fractional HR leadership from a one-off piece of advice.

At the senior end the work becomes what the CIPD, the professional body for HR, calls strategic HRM or people strategy: a coherent framework for how employees are hired, managed and developed to support the organisation’s long-term goals.

In a small company one fractional HR leader covers both the strategy and the day-to-day.

Three levels

Fractional HR roles sit at three levels.

A fractional HR manager runs the operational side.

A fractional HR director leads the function and advises the CEO.

A fractional CHRO sets people strategy at board level.

The title that fits depends on the size of the company and what the board needs; a scale-up’s first senior people hire is often called a fractional head of people (see fractional head of people jobs).

Fractional HR support: days, retainers and what is included

Fractional HR support is usually bought in one of two ways: a set number of days a week or month at a day rate, or a fractional HR retainer that covers agreed days plus contact between them.

Either way, write down what is included: which cases, which documents, which meetings, and how quickly the leader responds on the days they are not in.

Fractional HR support in the UK usually sits alongside someone who does the administration: an HR adviser, an office manager or an outsourced payroll provider.

The fractional leader sets the policies and handles the hard cases; the routine work stays with them.

Location matters less than it sounds.

A fractional HR London role and one in Manchester can be run the same way, with the remote days and the office days agreed at the start.

Fractional HR consultant or fractional HR leader?

A fractional HR consultant and a fractional HR leader are often confused.

A consultant advises or delivers a defined project, such as a handbook rewrite, a pay review or an investigation, and the client keeps the decisions.

A fractional leader holds the seat, makes the decisions within it and stays accountable for the result.

Check membership of the professional body either way.

The CIPD’s membership levels run from Foundation to Chartered Member, for experienced professionals with strategic and operational expertise, and Chartered Fellow, for those influencing at senior levels.

A leader who will own the function should usually sit at Chartered level or above.

If what you want is a firm’s service rather than one named leader, see fractional CHRO services.

Hiring: the short version

Decide the level first: operational HR, an HR director, or a board-level people seat.

Then write down what the leader must deliver in the next twelve months, who they report to, who does the administration and how many days that takes.

That is the brief.

Settle the contract before the start date.

Where the leader works through their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply; status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination (HMRC’s guidance for clients).

Our IR35 guide explains the tests.

To hire a fractional HR leader through us, send the brief.

We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or pay, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.

For the director seat, hire a fractional HR director; for HR roles and the hiring guide, see hire fractional HR.

For a board-level appointment, hire a CHRO; for a permanent director, HR director recruitment; for full-time cover over a fixed period, an interim HR director.