Our standard retainers are priced on weekly on-site hours, which suits a company with a steady flow of HR work. A school does not work that way, so this package is scoped and priced differently.
A school's HR load is seasonal: appointments and contracts before January, discipline through the terms, non-renewals and exits at year end. Buying weekly hours means paying for quiet months and running short in busy ones.
Educators, support staff, coaches and extra-mural instructors sit on different terms, and a contract set that treats them alike is where most school disputes begin.
Where a business owner absorbs a bad dismissal commercially, a school board answers to parents, to staff and to its own constitution. The reputational cost usually exceeds the award.
Not an advice line with extras billed on top. The work below is included for the year, and only Labour Court litigation falls outside it.
Separate contract sets for educators, support staff, coaches and extra-mural instructors, drafted and reviewed every year before the January intake.
Disciplinary code, grievance, leave, attendance, remote work, social media, AI use and staff conduct, reviewed annually and updated when the law moves.
Your constitution read against current employment and governance law, with amendments drafted where it no longer reflects how the school is actually run.
Appraisal frameworks, improvement plans and incapacity processes for educators and support staff, documented so they hold up later.
A named, genuinely uninvolved chairperson available for hearings, so the school is never scrambling to find one. Included, not billed per hearing.
Conciliation and arbitration on the school's behalf, including preparation, witness preparation and drafting. Included for the year.
Telephonic and email access for the head, the bursar and the HR lead, with a written note whenever employment law or a code of practice changes.
Quoted and approved as a single annual line in your budget, then paid annually in advance or in twelve equal instalments. All amounts exclude VAT.
Under 300 learners
or R7,000 a month over twelve months
Smaller independent and church schools, typically with 20 to 45 staff across educators, support and coaching roles.
Request a proposal300 to 800 learners
or R12,000 a month over twelve months
Established schools with a layered staff body, a formal appraisal cycle and a history of at least occasional disputes.
Request a proposalMore than 800 learners
or R17,000 a month over twelve months
Large or multi-campus schools and school groups, where practice varies between phases and consistency becomes the real exposure.
Request a proposalWhen to put this in the budget
Most schools set the following year's budget between August and October. Proposals requested in that window are quoted for a January start, and we hold the quoted fee until your board has approved it. The term runs January to December alongside your academic year.
We send a written proposal your board can approve, setting out the scope, the fee and the term. No consultation is required first, and there is no obligation.
What happens next
We reply within two working days with the proposal and a short list of documents we would want to see before the retainer starts. If it is easier to talk it through first, say so in the notes and we will call instead.
Book a free consultation and find out exactly where your business stands — no commitment, no pressure.