Employment Hero

Employment Hero sits between payroll software and a full HR suite. For UK practices advising small employers, the appeal is a single system covering PAYE, pensions, onboarding and policy questions, with AI agents that take on the repetitive HR queries.

What it does well. The compliance base is solid: the vendor says its payroll is HMRC recognised, handles RTI, PAYE and National Insurance, and submits pension data through PensionSync. The HR agent answers policy questions and drafts documents, with approvals before significant actions, which is the sensible way to deploy AI near employment matters. Security is better stated than for most rivals, with ISO 27001 and a SOC 2 Type II report claimed, and a free payroll plan makes it cheap to trial. The pitch of one platform for hiring, onboarding and pay also reduces the number of tools a small employer needs to manage.

Where it falls short. Pricing beyond the free plan is not shown on the page we read, and HR and payroll plans carry a minimum of 10 users, which may not suit the smallest clients. The accounting integrations named were Xero, Sage Intacct, FreeAgent and QuickFile; QuickBooks and Sage Business Cloud were not listed on that page. The recruitment agent is a hiring tool rather than an accounting one, so judge it separately. Check what the AI features cost on each plan, because the page we read does not say which tiers include them, and test the pension file output against your own auto-enrolment process.

Best for. UK firms advising small and mid-sized employers who want payroll, pensions and HR in one place, particularly clients on Xero. Availability varies by product and plan, so check which features apply to the plan quoted. It is less suited to practices wanting a payroll bureau tool for dozens of tiny clients.

Verdict. A credible UK payroll and HR option with clearer security claims than many peers. Trial the free payroll plan first, confirm the 10 user minimum against your clients, and verify the ledger integration you need.