A long-established business
The Hire or Buy Group Limited first began trading in 1974, making it one of the very first tool hire firms in their region. They have over 400 types of plant and tools available for hire and a vast range of products for sale including safety clothing and footwear, hand tools, power tools, cement, aggregate and consumables.
With three branches across Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, the company has a team of drivers, customer service advisors, branch managers, accounts staff and more. Run by husband and wife team Jon and Zoe Masterson, the business continues to grow while ensuring it is true to its long-established roots.
It started with an ad hoc requirement
Hire or Buy had an initial requirement for HR support on a one-off basis and approached an employment solicitor for help. The solicitor recommended Keeping HR Simple to provide a straightforward and pragmatic hand-holding approach to dealing with the situation.
Once that scenario was resolved, Jon approached Katherine about providing support on a more regular basis.
“With the ever changing rules and regulations with regard to HR it seemed the only sensible solution to ask Katherine and her team to assist us. Keeping HR Simple understand and know the latest regulations and are also on hand with guidance and help. ”
Katherine and the Keeping HR Simple team started by understanding the Hire or Buy team and working closely with Zoe to review and update the company’s HR documentation, contracts of employment, staff handbook etc.
Peace of mind
Hire or Buy get great peace of mind working with Keeping HR Simple. Katherine and the team provide an essential service for the business owners when they have queries and HR-related situations arise from time to time.
Katherine supported the business in looking after an employee who contracted long COVID; making sure that the correct approach was taken to reasonable adjustments to enable the employee to return. She liaised with the employee but also with the hospital’s long COVID team who were looking after the employee. This enabled a successful return to work after a long period of absence.
Keeping HR Simple has provided Management training to the branch Managers to support them in their roles. Managers feel supported and know that they’ll receive pragmatic and direct advice. Not only that but Katherine will write tailored correspondence for them as required to ensure that the right message and tone is captured.
As a business, it’s essential to Hire or Buy that they can continue to provide their products and services to the local area and that they look after their team to enable that to happen. Day to day queries are managed and resolved easily with Hire or Buy Directors Jon and Zoe taking a proactive approach to seeking advice and input at an early stage.
“Jon and I feel that working with Katherine was one of the best decisions that we have made. It ensures that we are treating all of our staff fairly and complying with all regulations. Katherine is efficient and responds quickly to our calls and emails and has a fantastic manner when talking to the Hire or Buy team. We would thoroughly recommend her services.”