14 best HR software in the United Kingdom (2025)

In today’s digital age, HR software has become an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes, streamlining and automating various HR processes to enhance efficiency and productivity.

If you’re currently searching for the best HR software solutions to meet your organisation’s needs, you’ve come to the right place. From talent acquisition and performance management to payroll and employee engagement, you can manage the entire employee lifecycle easily with one HR platform.

Whether you’re a small startup or a medium-sized enterprise, join us as we uncover the leading HR software providers, their unique features, and how they can empower your HR department to thrive in the digital era.

There’s no better time than now to switch from a manual HR system to a SaaS HR software. Let’s dive in and discover the cutting-edge solutions that will revolutionise the way you manage your people.

1. Employment Hero

Obviously, we’re featuring our software at the top of this list… but only because it’s the best.

Founded in 2014, Employment Hero is a cloud-based, all-in-one HR and payroll software that services over 200,000 businesses globally. Our end-to-end human resources information system (HRIS) covers every aspect of the employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to engagement, productivity‌ and success.

Having an HRIS gives you the flexibility to access your employee data from anywhere, at any time. And because we constantly update our software with the latest features and integrations, you can rest assured that your HR systems will always be up-to-date and compliant with local legislation. In fact, 85% of business leaders agree — Employment Hero makes managing employment easier.

What features does our HR software offer?

Employment Hero boasts an extensive list of features. The applicant tracking system (ATS) enables you to post job openings across multiple job boards ‌using AI and pre-created templates, then manage all applicants through each stage of the hiring process. You can view and share applicant data with HR departments and HR managers seamlessly, all from within the platform.

You can also onboard new employees quickly and compliantly with our paperless onboarding tools, such as virtual contracts and digital policy acknowledgements. There’s no need to spend hours on employee onboarding tasks anymore, because you can now get your new employees up and running in record time.

Employees can also maintain their own employee records, submit leave requests and timesheets, as well as access certifications, policies and more via their mobile‌ devices. Employee self-service means you can say goodbye to paperwork and streamline administrative tasks. All important employee information will be stored digitally in one central database, and you can access that data from wherever you are in the world — via mobile or desktop.

Struggling with payroll? You can save up to 90% of the time spent on payroll admin with our AI-driven payroll automation that can significantly reduce time spent on administrative tasks, offering features like passwordless login for enhanced security and expanded offboarding workflows, downloading and applying tax codes, PCB calculations and more.

Employment Hero’s engagement tools now include advanced AI capabilities to help you create a company culture your team loves. From employee happiness surveys to peer shoutouts, objectives and key results (OKRs) and more, you can keep the company strategically aligned whilst building and maintaining trust company-wide. Reduce turnover and improve engagement by rewarding and recognising employee milestones like work anniversaries and birthdays.

And let’s not forget about performance management. If you want to create a team at the top of their game, it’s crucial to embrace continuous feedback and create a positive culture to match. Employment Hero’s performance management features include everything from 360-degree reviews to employee feedback, one-on-one meetings and more. You can easily manage employees from one central location and design custom performance reviews.

When it comes to HR reporting and people analytics, Employment Hero makes it easier than ever. You can make better business decisions with complete visibility over company and employee data, including employee attendance, leave liabilities, employee happiness and more.

Keen to find out more? Get in touch today. 

2. BrightHR

BrightHR launched in 2015 when they saw that small business owners were spending hours every day on their HR tasks. They wanted to create a system that made those same chores quicker and easier to do. Now, they offer 24/7 employment law advice, expert health & safety support, a confidential employee wellbeing service and much more.

What features does their HR software offer?

BrightHR is smart software that claims to transform your people management through offering services including:

• Payroll software
• Shifts and rotas
• Holiday tracking
• Overtime tracking
• Holiday management
• HR document storage
• Sick leave and lateness
• A learning management system (LMS)
• Unlimited secure cloud document storage
• Performance management
• Employment law services
• Recruitment

3. Ciphr

Ciphr is a UK people-focused business, founded in 2015, delivering HR solutions designed to meet the needs of organisations and industries in the UK. Their mission is to use our expertise to advise and support customers in implementing HR software that works in the best way for their organisation and helps their people to do their best work.

What features does their HR software offer?

Ciphr offer a range of HR systems, payroll, LMS and recruitment solutions that connect you to your people including:

• HR software
• Payroll software
• Recruitment software
• Onboarding software
• Learning management system
• Off-the-shelf eLearning courses
• Employee benefits platform

4. CharlieHR

Charlie started life back in 2016 as three people working from a tiny office in Whitechapel. Their product is built on the belief that at every small company, there’s always one person holding it all together. They might not be an HR pro, but HR is on their plate. They wanted to give those people something to rely on, something that makes managing HR as simple and easy as possible.

What features does their HR software offer?

CharlieHR automates your HR tasks and gets you the time, headspace and tools you need to build an engaged and high-performing team. Their software helps you with:

• Onboarding new hires
• Managing time off
• Performance management
• Conducting engagement surveys
• Delivering perks and benefits
• Integrations
• Reporting
• Marketplace

5. Rippling

Rippling was founded in 2016. Rippling lets you manage and automate all your people operations around the world in one place — from onboarding to offboarding.

What features does their HR software offer?

Rippling helps their customers run a global workforce from wherever they are in the world by offering:

• HRIS
• Remuneration bands
• Benefits administration
• Payroll
• Pulse surveys
• Time & attendance
• Scheduling
• Surveys
• HR cloud overview
• Recruiting
• Headcount planning
• Learning management
• Performance management

6. PeopleHR

PeopleHR is an easy way to streamline your HR. Their platform helps UK businesses of all sizes streamline their HR processes, improve employee engagement and give their employees the ability to self-serve. They offer a suite of options including HR software, payroll and apps to help give you clarity on the HR journey from onboarding to offboarding.

What features does their HR software offer?

Like the other providers listed, PeopleHR offers an extensive number of solutions as part of their HR offering, including:

• HR software
• Absence management software
• AI HR assistant
• Employee benefits
• HR app
• HR task management
• Appraisal software
• HR reporting software
• Applicant tracking system
• Ripple® – workflow software
• Self-service HR
• Performance review software
• Time and attendance software
• Absence management software

7. Factorial HR

Founded in 2016, Factorial helps companies automate their HR processes, empower their employees with always up-to-date information‌ and make smart business decisions. It seeks to convert never-ending, manual processes into integrated, effective ones. So that in addition to managing people, you can dedicate yourself to bringing out the best in them.

What features does their HR software offer?

Factorial helps you stay on top of time tracking, performance, talent management‌ and expenses. They listen to the needs of their customers so they can create solutions that solve everyday problems. Their current solutions listed include:

• Expenses
• Goals & OKRs
• Talent acquisition
• Electronic signatures
• Employee performance
• Factorial cards
• Onboarding
• Offboarding
• Payroll preparation and review
• Electronic signature
• Time off, time tracking and shift management
• Document management
• Employee portal
• HR reports & KPI
• Organisational chart
• Communications & events
• Automations
• Permissions system

8. CezanneHR

CezanneHR is modern HR software that puts you in control and connects your people, wherever they are. They specialise in HR software built to streamline and simplify every aspect of human resources management, from recruitment and onboarding through core HR to performance reviews and payroll processing.

What features does their HR software offer?

Quick to implement and easy to manage, thousands of HR professionals in mid-sized UK and international organisations trust CezanneHR for:

• Recruitment
• Time tracking
• Pulse surveys
• People management
• Absence management
• Onboarding and lifecycle
• Performance management
• Smart managed payroll
• Career and succession planning
• Compensation planning
• Learning management system
• Recruitment
• Insights
• In-house & managed payroll
• HR portals and workspaces
• HR document management
• HR form builder
• Training and development
• Employee self-service

9. BambooHR

BambooHR saves you time and effort so you can focus on what matters most‌ — ‌growing your people, improving the employee experience‌ and taking your business forward. It​​supports every step in the employee experience through its intuitive features and flexible integrations, all connected to a single, secure source of data.

What features does their HR software offer?

There are a few key areas that BambooHR serves, each with a series of subservices within them. Their key offerings include:

• Data integrity services
• Training services
• HR consulting services
• Payroll reporting services

10. HiBob

HiBob is on a mission to transform how organisations operate in the modern world of work with its HR platform Bob. Leading the way for the future workplace, Bob offers resilient, agile technology that wraps all the complexities of HR processes into a game-changing, user-friendly tool that touches every employee across the business. From out-of-the-box onboarding, workflows, performance management‌ and compensation management to integrations with leading payroll providers and more‌ — ‌Bob’s breadth of core HR functionalities gives your team everything needed to operate efficiently.

What features does their HR software offer?

HiBob software offers its customers support with:

• Core HR
• Onboarding
• Time and attendance
• Compensation
• Payroll hub
• Hiring
• UK payroll
• Learning
• Time off
• Surveys
• Performance
• People analytics
• Workforce planning

11. Elmo

Founded in 2002, ELMO Software is a cloud-based solution that helps thousands of organisations across the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to effectively manage their people and processes. With a mission to create best-in-class technology accessible to all workplaces, ELMO is constantly evolving.

What features does their HR software offer?

The Elmo group spans ‌several brands and entities including PeoplePulse, Pivot, HROnboard, Vocam, Webexpenses and BreatheHR. Their services encompass:

• HR core
• Expenses
• Onboarding
• Performance management
• Learning management

12. Sage HR

Sage HR, formerly CakeHR, has evolved their offering thanks to feedback from clients and the committed work of their development & design team. Today they serve customers in the UK, US and Canada, along with 40+ global countries worldwide. Their seamless integration into the Sage family of products in accounting and payroll makes their offering the perfect solution for companies of any size.

What features does their HR software offer?

SageHR helps create amazing work-life experiences for your people. Their product’s key offering include:

• Accounting
• Payroll
• Sage HR
• Sage 50 accounts
• Sage 50 payroll
• Sage Intacct
• Sage people
• Sage 200
• Sage X3

13. BreatheHR

BreatheHR offers software that puts people first; their software helps you manage your people the right way. Back in 2012, Breathe built their multi-award-winning HR software with one thing in mind: to set SMEs free from time-consuming HR admin so they can focus on their people, build strong company cultures & drive their organisations forward.

What features does their HR software offer?

Breathe offers simple & cost-effective software that makes it super-easy to manage up to 200 employees. From employee data, leave, sickness and HR documents to training and performance, expenses, recruitment, rota scheduling and e-learning through capabilities including:

• HR software
• Rota, time & attendance
• Breathe learn – online training courses
• Expenses management
• Recruitment tracking

14. Zoho People

Zoho People is a cloud-based HR software crafted to nurture employees, quickly adapt to changes‌ and make HR management agile and effective. Simplify your HR operations, retain talent‌ and build a high-performing workforce while putting employee experience first.

Zoho People’s software offers comprehensive coverage of:

• Payroll
• Leave
• Timesheets
• HR automation & custom services
• Recruitment
• Onboarding
• HR analytics
• eNPS surveys
• LMS
• Compensation
• Annual surveys
• Shift management
• Case management
• Expense management
• Document management
• Employee management
• Attendance management
• Performance management
• Employee engagement
• Communication and collaboration

What are some other features that help make human resource management easier?

The era of digital HR is here, and it’s best you get onboard with it because its capabilities just keep getting stronger. If you’re unsure about what its features are or what you should be looking out for, fret not. We’re here to help!

Here’s all you need to know about the key features of an HRIS.

1. Core HR features

HR software helps you with all your core HR functions, including managing and storing employee data. It provides a centralised database for easy access and maintenance of all employee records — so you never have to grapple with stacks of paperwork or deal with a full inbox of emails. It’s all on the platform! Onboarding and offboarding is also a breeze with everything done digitally.

What’s more, a good HR software usually includes employee self-service functionality. This gives employees direct access to their personal records and details so they can update or access it whenever they want to, and they’ll also be able to submit leave requests to their managers directly, without the need for a third party.

2. Payroll management

Payroll features handle all aspects of employee compensation, including salary calculations, tax deductions‌ and generating pay slips. It guarantees accurate and timely payments to employees while following tax regulations. You get to save hours of administration time by auto-calculating each of your employees’ PCB (MTD), EPF, SOCSO‌ and more requirements each month.

Regarding statutory reporting, payroll management features that are LHDN (IRBM) verified make the entire process easier and more efficient. You can quickly access all required EIS, EPF and additional forms within the platform, and generate contribution reports in a few clicks.

The all-in-one HR and payroll software you’ve been looking for. Book a demo today.

3. Applicant tracking system (ATS)

An applicant tracking system (ATS) streamlines the hiring process by managing job postings, receiving applications‌ and tracking candidates throughout the recruitment life cycle. It helps HR teams efficiently manage, evaluate‌ and communicate with applicants. Having an ATS will transform your recruitment process completely — you’ll be able to reach all the right people in all the right places and manage candidates with ease.

4. Employee performance management

Employee performance management features facilitate the setting of performance goals, conducting performance reviews‌ and providing feedback. It enables HR professionals and managers to track employee performance, identify areas for improvement‌ and recognise achievements. These allow for ongoing employee development and improved organisational performance.

HR, payroll, recruitment and beyond — streamlined. Find out more here.

5. Time tracking and attendance

Ever thought twice about the accuracy of timesheet data when it’s been recorded manually? Now you don’t have to. Time tracking features in HR software enable employees to record their working hours accurately. It also helps employers automatically generate employee attendance reports and track time worked without manual data entry. This ensures accurate timesheet data and calculations for compliant pay.

6. Shift management

Manage shifts easier than ever with rota management features. They allow HR teams to better plan and assign work schedules for employees based on business needs, budgets and employee availability. This in turn helps the organisation manage staffing levels, reduces overtime costs, ensures adequate coverage and enhances employee satisfaction. By streamlining the scheduling process and enabling better communication, it contributes to smoother operations and improves productivity.

7. Benefits management

Benefits management features help in managing employee benefits, such as health insurance, retirement plans‌ and leave policies. It simplifies enrolment for benefits, tracks eligibility‌ and automates administration processes.

8. Employee engagement

Improving employee satisfaction and fostering a positive work environment is important for any organisation, and employee engagement features help with that. From surveys to feedback systems, recognition programmes and internal communication tools, they help to promote engagement and collaboration within the organisation.

9. Learning management system (LMS)

Unlike traditional training programmes, which are often rigid and location-based because of their in-person nature, a learning management system provides your team with access to digital learning, no matter where they are based. With an LMS, you can develop your people, track their progress and test their knowledge. You can even build custom training programmes and upload your own training materials.

What other features that make HR management easier?

1. Employer of Record (EOR)

In today’s flexible working world, ‌recruitment opportunities are borderless. HR software with Employer of Record (EOR) services can help you employ the best talent for your team, based anywhere in the world. Whether you’re expanding into new markets or struggling to fill open roles, you can connect easily with the right talent you need, legally and ethically. Get employment contracts created in compliance with local employment laws without the hassle of liaising with recruiters, creating overseas entities‌ or running into compliance risks.

2. AI enhancements

ChatGPT, Bard‌ and other AI tools are all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise you might find them in HR software too. AI-powered HR software features can help make human resource management easier by providing an enhanced employee experience and a more efficient way to work. With the help of AI, you can write job descriptions instantly and upload job ads in record time, amongst others.

Cloud-based HR software for all your organisational needs. Find out more here.

Looking for the best HR software solution for HR professionals in the UK?

Choosing the right HR software takes time. And it definitely isn’t easy – there are so many factors involved that you need to consider. Ultimately, its crucial to draw up a list of your organisation’s key needs and priorities so you can accurately differentiate between the features you need, and the features you want.

We wish you all the best in your search for a complete HR solution. And if you’re keen to find out more about Employment Hero, book a demo with one of our business specialists.