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Northgate HR: Free law advice will not affect HR firms

A new online facility launched by the government to help small to medium sized enterprise (SME) owners will not pose a threat to human resources (HR) departments, an expert has claimed.

Northgate HR's strategic HR outsourcing director Dean Gardner commented that insiders are not worried about competition from the new utility, related Personnel Today.

The government recently announced the launch of free online calculating facilities to help SME owners keep legal costs down.

Costs such as maternity and redundancy pay can be calculated, while legal advice can be given through the service.

However, Mr Gardener said: "It's all well and good to provide advice, but SMEs need a lot more than that. How do you deal with the people element using a website or a calculator? You need more than that."

This online calculator is part of a drive by the government to assist British SMEs in cutting avoidable legal fees by around £635 million by May 2010.