Fractional HR for California businesses
Senior HR expertise, without the full-time hire.
You're too big to wing it and too small to hire for it. Maven Works HR is the senior HR judgement a California employer needs long before it can justify employing someone full time.
How much does fractional HR cost in California?
Between $1,895 and $3,795 a month, set by team size. One product and one decision, and barely a decision at that, since headcount is a fact about your business rather than a package to choose between.
| Team size | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Under 10 employees | Custom |
| 10–15 employees | $1,895 |
| 16–25 employees | $2,795 |
| 26–40 employees | $3,795 |
| 40+ employees | Custom |
Advisory
Not ready for fractional HR, but still want guidance and support?
Advisory is available from your first employee. It fits a business below the retainer band, and one that has HR handled day to day and just wants senior judgement on the calls that carry risk.
This fits if
- You have employees but not yet the volume for an ongoing retainer
- An office manager, controller, or ops lead already carries HR
- The day-to-day is handled and the judgement calls are the problem
- You want a second opinion before a termination, not a whole department
What it covers
- Direct access to Lindsey for the questions that matter
- Review of decisions before they are made, not after
- Policy and document questions answered against current California law
What does a full-time HR hire actually cost?
More than the salary, and more than most companies this size have work to justify. The comparison that matters is not fee against fee. It is one monthly number against everything employing a person carries with it.
Hiring an HR manager
$135,934
average base salary, California. Typical range $107,847 to $155,303.
Base salary only. Everything below is on top of it.
- Base salaryPaid every month, whether the work is there or not
- Payroll taxes and benefitsOn top of salary, every month
- PTO, sick leave, and coverThe role stops when they are out
- Recruiting and onboardingBefore anyone does a day of work
- One person’s experienceWhatever the budget could attract
- Single point of failureWhen they leave, the knowledge leaves
Human Resources Manager in California. Salary.com, employer-reported market data. Checked August 2026.
Fractional HR
$33,540
a year at 16–25 employees, or $2,795 a month.
All in. Nothing below is extra.
- One monthly feeSet by team size, published, no hourly billing
- No employment costsNo payroll taxes, benefits, PTO, or equipment
- Available when it mattersThe need is bursty, not forty hours a week
- Starts immediatelyNo search, no notice period, no ramp
- Senior expertise, credentialedA PHR from the first day
- Scales with headcountThe price follows the business, both directions
Published on this page. No quote form and no negotiation.
There is a longer version of this: fractional HR compared with a full-time HR manager, including when the full-time hire is genuinely the better call.
Project work
Available whether or not you’re on a retainer.
| Project | Investment |
|---|---|
| Business Protection ScorecardHR compliance audit, human-reviewed, with a prioritised action plan | $249 |
| The FoundationEverything you need for a solid foundation, compliant with California and federal law: handbook, IIPP, and more | $1,950 |
| Workplace investigations | $1,500 – $3,500 |
| Complex terminationsPlanning and support through a high-risk exit | $750 to $1,500 flat |
| Wage & hour auditsClassification reviews | $1,500 – $3,500 |
| RecruitingFull-cycle hiring | Custom quote |
| On-demand consultingTwo-hour minimum | $250/hour |
Questions
- Do I need HR help before ten employees in California?
- Often, yes. California obligations start early: CFRA leave protections apply at just five employees. The questions begin with the first hire, the first termination, the first leave request, the first handbook. The ongoing retainer is built for teams of roughly ten to forty, where the volume justifies a standing arrangement, but Advisory covers the same senior judgement from your first employee, sized for a business that does not yet need a full-time function.
- Is there a contract, or a minimum commitment?
- Three-month minimum, then month to month. The opening three months cannot be ended early, because that is where the setup work lands and there is a lot of it: the foundations get built before there is any ongoing rhythm to settle into, and the rest of the engagement runs on top of that work. After the minimum, it is month to month.
- What is not included in Fractional HR?
- Administrative work. Fractional HR is advisory: the judgement call before the decision, not the processing after it. Payroll runs, benefits enrolment, filing and record-keeping stay where they are, with your existing providers. If what you need is someone to do the HR admin rather than to decide what the admin should say, this is the wrong purchase and you will be told so on the first call.
- Are the advisory calls really unlimited?
- Yes, there is no call counter. They are scheduled within Lindsey’s consulting hours rather than on demand, and genuinely urgent situations are handled as urgent. In practice nobody has run into a ceiling, because the constraint on this kind of work is rarely the number of conversations.
- Do you replace my payroll provider?
- No. Maven Works HR is advisory, not administrative. It is not a PEO and not a payroll service. You keep your existing payroll, benefits broker, and workers’ comp carrier. Fractional HR is the person you call before you make a decision, not the system that processes it afterwards.
- Do you work outside California?
- No. California only. This is one of the most demanding employment law regimes in the country, and depth here is the point. A nationwide firm with California experience is not the same thing as a California practice.
- How is the price set?
- By team size, and nothing else. Headcount is a fact about your business rather than a judgement call, so there is one number to find and no package to choose between. The published bands run from ten to forty employees. Below ten, a custom plan is quoted to fit; above forty, pricing is custom. Advisory is available from your first employee alongside any of it.
Not sure which band you’re in?
Headcount is the only input. Bring yours and you’ll have a straight answer in the first few minutes, including if the answer is that a retainer isn’t what you need.
Lindsey Duenat, PHR
Founder, Maven Works HR
Or reach Lindsey directly
Every enquiry gets a reply within one business day, from Lindsey rather than an autoresponder.