HR Service Providers for Resource Church Leaders

A primary function of the resource church leader role is recruiting and managing a team of people to deliver the ministry and mission of the church. Team may include paid staff (employees; contractors; workers), volunteers and licensed clergy/lay ministers.

Managing a team can bring many joys but also many challenges. Understanding employee status, employee rights and benefits, employer responsibilities and compliance, can feel like a minefield to navigate, particularly for those for whom managing a staff team and employing staff is a new experience.

Having people to help you in your immediate context, e.g. Ops Manager with HR expertise; a member of the congregation or your PCC with professional HR expertise, can make all the difference to you feeling confident and supported to address issues as they arise. Knowing where to access additional support (paid or unpaid; in person or online) is also key to having the right support available to you, suitable for your context, at the right time. 

There are three key types of HR support to consider.

1. Trusted colleague or member of your congregation/someone known to you, that can offer informal advice, which they would offer to you out of their experience and professional expertise.  This is often a great place to start, and if they can’t help they are likely to be able to signpost you to someone that can. Note that the limits of their own professional indemnity insurance, or capacity, might not allow them to give formal advice or to be too ‘hands on’, so best to treat them as a sounding board.

2. HR advice lines (service provider). A third party HR advice supplier is another consideration, usually costed on a £/employee rate and worth exploring as an alternative to employing the service of an HR professional or ‘in the moment’ advice.  They provide a range of services:

• Advice line – phone or video call support (24/7)
• Outsourced HR services; HR software; policies and procedure
• Disciplinary and tribunal support

The cost of the plan varies and would be dependent on the level of support needed.

Useful for everyday HR support and ‘one off’ advice of a more complex nature.

3. Employment law specialist/legal profession e.g. solicitor. The nature of the advice is often but not limited to more complex situations which require an in-depth understanding of employment law, employee rights and expert guidance. Situations that might merit this:-

Complex disciplinary situations; settlement agreements; restructuring and redundancy; navigating the complexities of visas and sponsorship.‘The tricky stuff’.

This type of service will come with a fee (£00s – 000s) so budgeting for the uptake of legal advice on an occasional basis would be something to consider. 

So where can I find this information and support? The following are offered in good faith as examples of the types of service that you may wish to explore along with others. Examples show the range of services provided from free advice; not-for-profit organisations, suppliers to the church world, suppliers to business, legal and law firms.

For the avoidance of doubt  The Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) does not recommend these suppliers or service providers to you. It is important that you (church/parish) do your own research and satisfy your leadership/governing body (e.g. PCC, church trustees, leadership team) that any type of support service you intend to engage is a ‘good fit’ and can supply the relevant expertise for your specific needs within the budget available to you. You may wish to consider what your diocese can provide.

Podcast – Andy Bagwell (Ucan) in conversation with Gavin Smith (The Church Office Podcast) discussing the nuts of bolts of HR Support for Churches.