BrightHR review
Bottom line
BrightHR is a UK-focused HR platform that combines holiday planning, absence tracking, clocking in and rotas with 24/7 employment law advice. Its clearest strength is that software and expert help sit in one subscription, which suits owners without an in-house HR team. The main cost to watch is that the advice line starts at the middle tier, and insurance and managed payroll are priced separately. It is best suited to UK small and medium-sized employers that want HR administration and compliance support together.
What is BrightHR?
BrightHR is a web-based HR platform built for UK small and medium-sized businesses. It brings holiday and absence management, clocking in, shift and rota planning, performance management and document storage into one system. The core problem it addresses is the administrative load of managing staff time, leave and records, along with the compliance duties that come with employing people. The company also sells payroll and health and safety products that connect to the same employee data.
Day to day, managers use the staff holiday planner to approve leave requests on the go, get notified of clashes and see the whole team's schedule in one view. Employees clock their own hours through the Blip app, which gives managers a real-time view of who is clocked in, clocked out or on a break. Overtime requests can be approved or declined, with payable hours or time off in lieu, and sick leave and lateness are logged through absence tracking. Approved absences can be pushed into Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar, and staff documents are kept in unlimited document storage.
The software is aimed at businesses with 1 to 49 employees and those with 50 to 249, and the company also lists larger organisations and sectors including construction, healthcare, hospitality and retail. Pricing is per employee per month, excluding tax. Core HR software starts at £16.67 per employee per month, Enhanced HR support is £21.20, and the full HR, health and safety and wellbeing package is £31.30. Fixed-term contracts run for 24, 36 or 60 months, and demos usually last 30 to 45 minutes.
What sets BrightHR apart is that the software sits alongside expert advice. Subscribers on the higher tiers can call a 24/7 employment law advice line staffed by more than 50 qualified specialists, use an AI chatbot for HR questions and download expert-written HR document templates. Health and safety content includes more than 600 risk assessment templates and support for submitting RIDDOR reportable incidents. A CIPP-qualified team also runs a managed payroll service that liaises directly with HMRC.
Who it's for
- UK small businesses with 1 to 49 employees
- Medium-sized employers needing HR and employment advice
- Teams with shift or rota-based staff
Who should look elsewhere
- Businesses outside the UK needing local legal content
- Buyers who want the lowest cost and no advice
- Companies needing published prices for managed payroll
Typical uses
- Approving holiday and absence requests
- Clocking in and tracking overtime
- Planning shifts and rotas
- Logging incidents and running risk assessments
- Running payroll with HMRC liaison
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BrightHR alternatives and comparisons
BrightHR is the only human resources product we list so far. Browse the category as more are added.