Start Strong
Put clear contracts, responsibilities, policies, onboarding and probation processes in place from the beginning.
Explore the FoundationsPeople. Purpose. Performance.
HR Support and Consultancy for Businesses in Edinburgh, Midlothian and Scotland
Practical, proactive HR support for growing businesses in Edinburgh, Midlothian and across Scotland that want to protect the organisation, support their people and deal with difficult situations properly.
What Guiding North HR does, in plain terms
Guiding North HR provides practical HR support to small and growing businesses in Edinburgh, Midlothian and across Scotland. Derek helps employers strengthen contracts, policies, onboarding and probation processes, manage disciplinary concerns and navigate redundancy and organisational change.
The consultancy is led by Derek Carter and is built for owner-led businesses that employ people but have no internal HR department. Support ranges from one defined package to an ongoing, fractional HR partnership.
Where manager training is needed, Derek can bring in trusted Learning and Development support to help teams apply his methods confidently.
Areas served
- HR support in Edinburgh
- HR support in Midlothian, Scotland
- Small business HR support
- Remote support for employers elsewhere in the UK.
Where it really starts
HR problems rarely begin on the day everything goes wrong.
They usually start much earlier.
- A role that was never properly defined.
- A new employee left to find their own way.
- A probation review that did not happen.
- A manager avoiding a difficult conversation.
- Paperwork completed after the event.
Guiding North HR helps you put clear, practical people processes in place before small issues become expensive ones.
Service routes
Where do you need guidance?
Handle Issues Fairly
Give managers a clear process for dealing with conduct, capability and disciplinary concerns.
Explore Employee Relations SupportNavigate Change
Manage redundancy and organisational change with clarity, fairness and respect.
Explore Redundancy SupportOngoing HR Partnership
Access experienced strategic HR thinking without employing an internal HR director.
Discuss Ongoing SupportSignature offer
The Employee Prenup
Start the working relationship with clarity, not crossed fingers.
Nobody recruits someone expecting the working relationship to go wrong. But hope is not an HR process.
The Employee Prenup helps you agree the important things at the beginning, while everyone is still looking forward to working together.
It creates clarity around the role, responsibilities, expectations, induction and support from day one.
Discover The Employee Prenup
Why Derek
Practical HR shaped by decades of real experience.
Derek understands that good HR is not about producing more paperwork or quoting policies at people.
It is about helping business owners make sound decisions, giving managers the confidence to act and making sure people are treated fairly throughout the process.
His approach combines commercial realism, detailed HR knowledge and a belief that even the most difficult conversations can be handled with humanity.
- Commercially grounded
- Firm but fair
- Calm in difficult situations
How it works
A clear way forward.
- 01
Start with a conversation
Tell Derek what is happening, what is worrying you and what you need the business to achieve.
- 02
Understand the route
Derek will identify the immediate priorities, risks and most appropriate level of support.
- 03
Put it into practice
You receive the documents, guidance and practical support needed to move forward confidently.
Recommendations
Trusted when it matters.
Recommendations from clients and colleagues who have worked with Derek.
I have worked with Derek Carter since 2003, during which time he has been HR Director across several of my businesses. Derek combines outstanding HR expertise with commercial awareness, integrity, and a practical approach to solving complex people issues. He has played a vital role in supporting growth, managing change, and developing strong workplace cultures.
Even after establishing his own business, Derek continues to be a trusted advisor whose guidance and support I value greatly. I would highly recommend Derek to any organisation looking for an experienced HR leader and strategic business partner.
Having known Derek for 15 years he was my natural choice for a HR partner when I set up my new firm.
Derek has worked with me in a truly advisory way since day 1 providing first class advice when I required it. He painlessly implemented HR procedures within my business from the onset ensuring that be-IT was fully compliant with all legislation and to this day provides call off assistance as and when I require it.
I can thoroughly recommend Derek as an informed and personable professional who adds HR rigor to a SME business. His approach was excellent.
Derek Carter was a colleague and neighbour while working for CCA Limited on Canouan Island, with whom my wife and I developed a close relationship with his family.
As a colleague, he showed an unparalleled commitment to his job. On numerous occasions, he either arrived late or left for the office just after arriving home from work, and he answered work-related calls, regardless of time, during personal time with family and friends and on days off. Derek dealt with any employment issues or matters promptly, always informing you as to where your query stood.
Derek's professionalism and charismatic leadership made him a well-respected colleague, and a reliable friend.
HR questions employers ask most
Straight answers to the questions Derek is asked most often by owners and managers across Edinburgh, Midlothian and Scotland.
What does an HR consultant do for a small business?
An HR consultant gives an employer experienced people advice without the cost of an internal HR department. In practice that means preparing employment contracts, policies and a staff handbook, setting up onboarding and probation processes, and guiding owners and managers through performance, conduct and redundancy situations. Derek works alongside you, explains the options in plain language and helps you decide what to do next.
See how the support worksWhat is fractional HR support?
Fractional HR support means using an experienced HR professional for part of their time instead of employing one full time. You get senior HR thinking on strategy, structure, risk and difficult decisions, scaled to what the business actually needs. For growing businesses in Edinburgh and Midlothian, this is often the step between managing HR yourself and hiring an internal HR team.
Ongoing HR partnershipCan a small business outsource its HR?
Yes. Many small and growing businesses outsource HR rather than employ an HR manager. Outsourced HR gives you access to experienced advice, documentation and process support when you need it, and nothing when you do not. Guiding North HR offers both defined packages for specific pieces of work and ongoing support for businesses that want a regular HR partner.
Explore outsourced HR supportWhen should a small business get HR support?
Ideally before there is a problem. The most useful moments are when you are employing someone for the first time, when the team grows beyond the point where the owner knows everything, when a probation or performance concern appears, or when you are considering restructuring. Early advice is almost always cheaper and calmer than advice sought after a decision has already been made.
Small business HR supportDoes Guiding North HR support businesses in Edinburgh?
Yes. Guiding North HR provides HR support to small and growing businesses across Edinburgh, from first hires to established owner-led firms without an internal HR department. Support can be delivered remotely or in person for meetings, manager sessions and sensitive conversations where being in the room matters.
HR support in EdinburghDoes Guiding North HR support businesses in Midlothian?
Yes. Guiding North HR works with employers throughout Midlothian, Scotland, including businesses that have grown steadily without ever putting formal HR arrangements in place. You get direct access to Derek rather than a call centre, which matters when a situation is sensitive and you need a straight answer quickly.
HR support in MidlothianDoes Derek work with businesses outside Scotland?
Yes. Much of the work - contracts, policies, probation systems, process design and advice calls - is delivered remotely, so employers elsewhere in the UK can be supported in the same way. In-person support is most straightforward across Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Lothians. Tell Derek where you are based and he will confirm what is practical.
Ask about your locationHow much does small business HR support cost?
The defined packages are priced openly: The Employee Prenup is £1,000, The Employer Foundations Package is £2,000, The First 90 Days System is £2,500, The Fair Process starts at £2,500 for systems and documentation, and The Redundancy Roadmap starts at £3,000. Ongoing HR partnership is tailored following an initial conversation, and live case support is quoted after a short review.
See all packages and pricesGuidance last reviewed: 14 August 2026. This page is general information, not individual advice - contact Derek about your own situation.
You do not need to have all the answers before getting in touch.
If something does not feel right, a people issue is keeping you awake or your business has outgrown its current HR arrangements, let's start with a conversation.
Talk to Derek