BreatheHR Review UK 2026: Honest Verdict for Small Businesses

Home › Business Software › HR Software › BreatheHR Review UK 2026

Last Reviewed: April 2026 | Fact-checked against ICO, ACAS, and HMRC guidance.

TL;DR: BreatheHR is a UK-built HR platform for businesses with 1-50 employees. It covers core UK employment law obligations reliably without complexity, but has no native payroll and becomes expensive beyond 50 staff. G2: 4.4/5 from over 500 verified reviews (G2, 2026). Best for: UK small businesses needing compliant people management without a dedicated HR team.

How We Assessed BreatheHR

BreatheHR is a purpose-built UK HR platform assessed against 12 criteria: UK data residency, GDPR Article 28 compliance, Employment Rights Act 1996 feature coverage, Working Time Regulations holiday calculation accuracy, absence management quality, ACAS-aligned document templates, payroll integration depth, mobile app functionality, ease of use for non-HR users, onboarding workflow capability, G2/Capterra verified ratings, and value for money at each headcount tier. BreatheHR is not a paying advertiser on kaeltripton.com. This verdict is editorially independent.

The UK has approximately 5.5 million small businesses, accounting for 99% of all UK businesses (ONS, 2024). The majority have no dedicated HR function, making simple, compliant HR software essential.

The average Employment Tribunal award for unfair dismissal in 2023-24 was £11,316 (Ministry of Justice, 2024), underlining the cost of poor HR record-keeping.

Author: Chandraketu Tripathi, reviewed by the kaeltripton.com editorial team.

What Is BreatheHR and Who Is It For?

BreatheHR is a UK-built cloud HR software platform designed for small businesses with 1-50 employees. It replaces holiday spreadsheets and paper personnel files with a centralised people management system covering absence tracking, document storage, employee self-service, and ACAS-aligned policy templates - all without requiring a dedicated HR professional to configure or run it.

Launched in 2012 and headquartered in Haywards Heath, England, BreatheHR is developed specifically for UK employment law. Its compliance templates reference the Employment Rights Act 1996, ACAS codes of practice, and Working Time Regulations 1998 by design rather than adaptation. This UK-first architecture is its primary differentiator from US-origin competitors that retrofit UK compliance onto a global codebase.

For context on where BreatheHR sits in the wider market, see our best HR software UK roundup and our guide to HR software for small UK businesses.

BreatheHR Pricing 2026

BreatheHR uses flat-fee tiered pricing rather than per-employee billing at its lower tiers, which is a genuine cost advantage for businesses with 5-15 employees compared to per-employee competitors charging £5-8 per head.

• Starter: £18/month - up to 10 employees. Holiday and absence management, document storage, basic reporting.
• Standard: £43/month - up to 20 employees (overage to 50). Adds self-service portal, performance tools, ACAS-aligned templates.
• Pro: £85/month - up to 50 employees. Adds rota management, advanced reporting, priority support.

Beyond 50 employees, BreatheHR moves to custom pricing that is typically above the per-employee market average. A 75-person business on BreatheHR will likely pay more per employee than Employment Hero or Factorial at equivalent feature levels. For a full market cost comparison, see our HR software cost UK guide.

BreatheHR Feature Assessment

Holiday and Absence Management

BreatheHR's holiday and absence management correctly calculates entitlement under Working Time Regulations 1998, including pro-rata for part-time workers and Bradford Factor scoring for sickness absence. This is the platform's strongest area, consistently rated highest by G2 verified reviewers. Absence requests flow through a configurable manager approval workflow with email notifications, and return-to-work interview records can be logged directly against the absence event.

For variable-hours workers, verify during any trial that the platform applies the 52-week reference period for holiday pay calculations introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2023 amendment, rather than the older 12-week reference period. This is a critical UK compliance point that not all platforms have updated correctly.

Document Management and ACAS Templates

BreatheHR's document library includes employment contract templates, offer letters, and HR policies aligned to ACAS guidance, providing compliant starting points for business owners without HR expertise. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees must receive a written statement of employment particulars from day one - BreatheHR's e-signature capability means this can be sent, signed, and stored digitally without paper. Document version history is maintained against each employee record.

Employee Self-Service Portal

Employees access holiday balances, submit leave requests, view documents, and update personal information through a web portal and mobile app. Manager approvals trigger automatic notifications. The mobile app functions on both iOS and Android but G2 reviewers consistently note it carries fewer features than the desktop version - particularly for absence management and document access. Test the mobile experience specifically if your workforce is site-based or mobile-first.

Performance Management

BreatheHR includes basic performance management: goal setting, one-to-one meeting records, and annual appraisal templates. This is adequate for structured annual review cycles but does not extend to OKR management, continuous feedback, or 360-degree peer reviews. Organisations navigating the day-one unfair dismissal rights introduced under the Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 need stronger performance documentation tools than BreatheHR's current module provides.

Payroll Integration

BreatheHR does not include native payroll. Integration with Sage Payroll and Xero Payroll is available, typically via structured data export rather than real-time API connection on standard plans. This creates a manual transfer step on each pay run and a potential error vector. Businesses where payroll integration accuracy is operationally critical should evaluate Employment Hero or Ciphr alongside BreatheHR before committing.

BreatheHR Comparison: Key Metrics

BreatheHR UK GDPR Compliance

BreatheHR stores data on UK servers, satisfying the data residency requirements of most UK employers under UK GDPR. The platform is UK-headquartered and provides a Data Processing Agreement compliant with Article 28 on request - reputable for prompt delivery. Role-based access controls ensure line managers see only their team's data, meeting UK GDPR's data minimisation principle (ICO, 2024). Audit logs of data access and modification are maintained. Confirm the current sub-processor list before signing, particularly for any cloud infrastructure that may involve EEA processing.

Who Should Use BreatheHR and Who Should Look Elsewhere

BreatheHR suits: UK businesses with 1-50 employees that need reliable absence management and compliant employment documentation without HR department complexity. Particularly strong for business owners or office managers handling people ops without specialist HR knowledge, where ACAS-aligned templates and straightforward workforce management workflows reduce legal risk.

Look elsewhere if: You need native payroll or real-time payroll integration; headcount is above 50 and growing; you need OKR tracking or 360-degree reviews; your workforce is primarily mobile and needs a full-featured app; or you expect to scale beyond 100 employees within two years.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does BreatheHR cost per month in the UK?

BreatheHR costs £18/month for up to 10 employees on its Starter plan, £43/month for up to 20 employees on Standard, and £85/month for up to 50 employees on Pro. This flat-fee pricing makes it significantly cheaper than per-employee competitors for businesses with 5-15 staff. Beyond 50 employees, custom pricing applies and BreatheHR becomes less competitive on cost.

Does BreatheHR include payroll?

BreatheHR does not include native payroll. It integrates with Sage Payroll and Xero Payroll via structured data export. This means payroll must be managed in a separate tool and data transferred each pay run. Businesses needing native UK payroll with HMRC RTI submission should evaluate Employment Hero or Ciphr instead.

Is BreatheHR suitable for a business with fewer than 5 employees?

Yes. The Starter plan at £18/month covers up to 10 employees and provides organised HR records, compliant employment documentation, and holiday tracking from the very first hire. At this size, the main value is the audit trail - timestamped records of holiday taken and documents signed that provide evidence in any future employment dispute.

Is BreatheHR GDPR compliant?

BreatheHR stores data on UK servers and provides a Data Processing Agreement compliant with UK GDPR Article 28. Role-based access controls and audit logs are included. As data controller, you must sign the DPA before entering any employee data into the system. Confirm the current sub-processor list directly with BreatheHR before purchasing.

What are the main weaknesses of BreatheHR?

BreatheHR's main weaknesses are: no native payroll requiring a separate payroll tool; limited performance management capability for businesses needing OKRs or continuous feedback; a mobile app that carries fewer features than the desktop version; and pricing that becomes uncompetitive above 50 employees relative to per-employee competitors with more features at that scale.

Auto-enrolment duties apply to all UK employers from the first eligible hire, with minimum employer contributions of 3% of qualifying earnings set by The Pensions Regulator (TPR, 2025).

Sources

• G2 BreatheHR Reviews: https://www.g2.com/products/breathe/reviews
• ICO UK GDPR Employment Guidance: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/
• ACAS Employment Contracts: https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-contracts
• Employment Rights Act 1996: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents
• Working Time Regulations 1998: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/contents