Over a quarter (27 per cent) of HR professionals have said they’re finding their job harder now than they did two years ago. The findings come from HR software provider Breathe HR, which surveyed over 500 HR people to understand the evolving pressures shaping the profession.
The findings show that as many as 1 in 3 (33 per cent) HR professionals are considering leaving the industry. Of those looking to leave, 1 in 4 (27 per cent) are driven by stress, a further 1 in 4 (24 per cent) by the changing nature of HR, and a fifth (18 per cent) by pay concerns.
The findings come as new Employment Rights Act (ERA) measures – such as extended tribunal time limits, stronger harassment prevention duties, and expanded trade union responsibilities – come into play this month, piling additional compliance and administrative pressures on HR teams.
Breathe HR’s findings point to a HR profession growing increasingly challenging and complex.
Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of HRs surveyed said that they are held responsible for decisions they have limited authority or budget to control, while the same proportion (63 per cent) report that the amount of “people work” has grown, without the size of the HR team growing alongside it. Meanwhile, nearly seven in ten HRs (69 per cent) say work that falls between HR, legal, IT, and operations is increasingly landing on the HR team, increasing capacity and delivery pressures.
This strain is surfacing clear organisational risks. More than half (51 per cent) of HR professionals say most people decisions get made outside any HR system or record, with 62 per cent still relying on spreadsheets to track employee data. Two fifths (42 per cent) say their organisation would struggle to evidence how a people decision was made if challenged at an employment tribunal: a particular concern following the ERA’s extension of the deadline for bringing employment tribunal claims, which came into effect on 1st October.
“We’ve seen a number of Employment Rights Act changes land in October, and with them a clear message: inconsistent record-keeping and unclear ownership structures no longer fly,” says Bharat Siyani, VP of People & Culture at Breathe. “To manage the increased complexity of HR in the wake of the ERA, teams should prioritise streamlining processes, automating repetitive admin, and tightening record-keeping using reliable digital systems to stay compliant.
“Organisations must also recognise HR as a strategic engine in the business, not a dumping ground for work that could or should be funnelled elsewhere. In order to carry out their jobs effectively, HRs need clear ownership, adequate resources and effective tools designed to meet their specific needs.”
Despite these challenges, HRs say their strategic value is rising: ore than two-thirds (68 per cent) say HR matters more to the business than it did two years ago and three quarters (77 per cent) say that if the HR team were to leave tomorrow, it would seriously disrupt the status quo.
