--- description: In this article, we look at the three top-rated free HR software for small businesses in the UK along with some of the features offered by them. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/software_advice/og_logo-55146305bbe7b450bea05c18e9be9c9a.png title: 3 Top-rated free HR software for small businesses in the UK --- # 3 Top-rated free HR software for small businesses in the UK Canonical: https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/3398/free-hr-software-for-small-businesses Published on 24/01/2023 | Written by Sukanya Awasthi. ![3 Top-rated free HR software for small businesses in the UK](https://images.ctfassets.net/63bmaubptoky/6imlMQ9OHID4ikJVD4zg2R/51948c70694d632a5528583e0684da79/Free_HR_Software_for_Small_Business_uk-UK-SA-Header.png) > Finding an HR software system that meets the demands of a growing company may be challenging. In this post, we guide you through the three top-rated free HR software for small businesses in the UK and assist you in choosing the right HR software most suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ----- ## Article Content Finding an HR software system that meets the demands of a growing company may be challenging. In this post, we guide you through the three top-rated free HR software for small businesses in the UK and assist you in choosing the right HR software most suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).In this article1. Freshteam2. GroveHR3. HomebaseFor SMEs, managing human resources can get tricky, especially if the business is in its nascent stages. Many businesses can lack the HR workforce required to address challenges like fostering leadership development, upskilling and retraining current employees, and finding and hiring competitive talent, to name a few. Today's HR tasks are also more complex and advanced than ever before. As a result, the capabilities of software in today’s times have also increased. While some solutions are comprehensive, taking care of the majority or all of the duties associated with HR management, other solutions could be specialised and just provide assistance with a few specific HR tasks.Investing in and choosing the right HR software may be beneficial for SMEs and start-ups in particular. HR software solutions can possibly automate many HR-related tasks, bridging the gap between large organisations with a full staff of competent HR experts and small organisations that may not have the means to support a team of dedicated full-time HR personnel.What is HR software?HR software is a system used by businesses to manage the employee workforce, automate routine jobs and simplify the function of the HR department. There are many benefits of HR software like payroll management, employee engagement, and ensuring employee well-being, to name a few. Businesses of all sizes may utilise HR software to increase employee productivity and satisfaction levels.This article offers a list of the three top-rated free HR software tools for businesses in the UK. The tools in this article are listed in alphabetical order. The listed tools are selected based on the following criteria:Have an overall rating of at least 4.5/5 stars by usersHave at least 50 user reviews between January 2021 and January 2023Meet the market definition of human resource softwareAre either headquartered in the UK or offer services in the UKOur full methodology can be found at the bottom of this article.1. Freshteam Freshteams’ analytics dashboard where HR professionals can track important candidate metrics \[Source: Software Advice\]Overall rating – 4.4/5Value for money – 4.4/5Functionality – 4.2/5Ease of use – 4.4/5Customer support – 4.1/5Freshteam is an HR software used by SMEs to manage employee hiring, leaves and time off, employee database, and onboarding. The software comes with different modules which are responsible for accomplishing various tasks. The applicant tracking system allows companies to screen applicants, interview them, manage applicant engagement and roll out the offer letter, all from within the tool using pre-built templates. Companies can use the employee information system to centralise candidate information including their profile information, company structure, and related documents. Freshteam analytics helps HR professionals to view reports and analytics related to various aspects of human resources. Companies can also get a 360-degree view of their global employee count using this feature.Moreover, the platform helps companies with onboarding and offboarding by automating tasks involved in various onboarding steps. This is done by creating an onboarding checklist, sending out welcome kits and automated welcome emails, and assigning new documents for signing. The tool comes with pre-built templates to be filled by employees, and an automated reminder is sent to the new hires to remind them of the timely filling of documents. Freshteam offers various third-party integrations, free version and more information on their pricing plan can be found on their website. Read More 2. GroveHR GroveHR’s dashboard where admins can get a consolidated view of the employee information \[Source: Software Advice\]Overall rating – 4.4/5Value for money – 4.4/5Functionality – 4.2/5Ease of use – 4.4/5Customer support – 4.4/5GroveHR is a human resource software that helps companies with employee management, recruitment, onboarding, payroll, performance management, employee engagement etc. Using the tool, businesses can create a careers page on the website without having to code and then be notified whenever the system receives an application. The platform also lets interviewers instantly record ratings, leave remarks, and check a candidate's history of interviews. Additionally, GroveHR also automates onboarding tasks so that employers can trigger onboarding sequences and automatically roll out offer letters.Moreover, GroveHR lets companies work on employee engagement by letting employees post pools and surveys on the company’s social feed. It also lets employees create interest groups to find peers who share common interests. The employee management feature lets companies centralise the employee data in one place, initiate HR processes from the system and send anniversary and birthday reminders. Companies can also keep track of employee records, employment contracts, job histories, payroll information, etc. in one location. The tool also provides the feature using with, HR professionals can create policies and company templates available to the employees. GroveHR comes with a free version and offers third-party integrations. More information on its pricing can be found on the website. Read More 3. HomebaseHomebase dashboard gives businesses a consolidated view of employee schedules \[Source: Software Advice\]Overall rating – 4.6/5Value for money – 4.5/5Functionality – 4.4/5Ease of use – 4.6/5Customer support – 4.5/5Homebase offers businesses employee scheduling, human resources and compliance tools and helps them manage their schedules, timesheets, onboarding, payroll, etc. With Homebase, recruiters can create job postings with a library of pre-written and customisable job descriptions and post the job on job boards. The applicant tracking system lets them track employees and message potential candidates from within Homebase. The tool lets businesses manage employee information like their personal details, emergency contacts, salary details etc. Employers can also track employee certifications and get notified whenever the certifications expire.Furthermore, the tool also gives companies a view of vacation and time off across their team. In Homebase, they may set up time off regulations and policies to keep track of leave balances. The tool allows businesses to track employee hours, breaks, overtime and clock-ins. Moreover, employers can also get alerted on late clocking and their GPS location as well. Additionally, Homebase provides multiple data export options and automated error reporting. The tool provides various third-party integrations, free version and more information on their pricing can be found on their website.Read MoreLooking for human resource software? Check out our catalogue\! ## Disclaimer > MethodologyTo select the tools for this list, we identified the top products for “HR software”, which have their headquarters in the UK.The shortlisted products were then assessed against the market definition of HR software: human Resource (HR) software, also known as a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) or Human Resource Management System (HRMS), is a suite of tools that enable organisations to manage human capital. Human resources management software allows HR teams to manage a variety of necessary HR functions which include onboarding, employee benefits, attendance, salary, and more. Many Human Resource Management systems can be integrated with applicant tracking and payroll software platforms. HRMS software is related to Applicant Tracking software, Payroll Software, Performance Appraisal software and Workforce Management software. Compare product reviews and features to help find the best HR Software for your business in the UK.All the above software have the following core features: employee database, employee profiles, and reporting/analytics.Besides that, the tools were further checked against the following criteria:  average overall ratings above 4.5/5 stars, minimum 50 user reviews over the past two years (January 2021 – January 2023), tools either having headquarters in the UK or services available in the UK.Out of our resultant list, we selected the top three tools with the highest rating in the last two years. ## About the author ### Sukanya Awasthi Sukanya is a Content Analyst for the UK and India market. Committed to offering insights on technology, emerging trends and software suggestions to SMEs. Café hopper and a dog mom. ## Related Software - [Freshteam](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/51969/freshteam) — 4.4/5 (209 reviews) - [Grove HR](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/224494/grove-hr) — 4.4/5 (78 reviews) - [Homebase](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/45661/homebase) — 4.6/5 (1142 reviews) ## Related Categories - [Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/321/applicant-tracking-software/software) - [Onboarding Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/1396/employee-onboarding/software) - [Payroll Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/318/payroll-software/software) - [Project Tracking Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/1606/project-tracking/software) - [Task Management Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/1412/task-management/software) ## Related Articles - [15 Marketing statistics for 2022 in the UK](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/2853/top-marketing-statistics) - [How can SMEs approach measuring employee engagement?](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/4167/measure-employee-engagement-in-an-sme) - [10 Rules of business etiquette for professionals](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/2658/rules-of-business-etiquette) - [Top 3 CRM systems for small businesses in the UK](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/3190/top-crm-software-uk) - [What is the relationship between blockchain and Web3?](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/2713/what-is-web3-business-benefits) ## Links - [View on SoftwareAdvice](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog/3398/free-hr-software-for-small-businesses) - [Blog](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/blog) - [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/) ----- ## Structured Data