P2 Knowledge

P2 Knowledge is a fractional HR and people consultancy built for founders and leaders who are establishing and growing teams. We work with seed to Series B startups, particularly in life sciences, biotech, and tech, as well as global companies setting up in the UK for the first time. We get the reality of early-stage businesses. No jargon, no unnecessary overhead. Just calm, practical people support that actually fits your stage.

You've sorted the legal side. Now what?

You've incorporated, maybe raised a round, possibly just hired your first employee. Someone helped you get the paperwork right. But now you've got a person, maybe several, and suddenly there are questions nobody warned you about. What does a fair employment contract actually look like? When do you need policies, and which ones matter? How do you handle a performance issue without creating a legal one? What even is auto-enrolment? This is where we come in.

What we do

P2 Knowledge gives you senior HR expertise without the senior HR salary. Emma Plowman, our founder, is a Fellow-qualified HR professional with a background spanning arm, AstraZeneca, and years working inside Cambridge's startup ecosystem. She works directly with founders and leadership teams on the things that actually keep growing companies on track as well as with a team of associates to support your business.

That includes:

• Employment foundations - contracts, offer letters, policies, and handbooks that are legally sound and actually readable.
• UK entity setup - if you're a global business hiring in the UK for the first time, we'll make sure you do it right from day one.
• People operations - onboarding, offboarding, payroll setup, benefits, and the processes that stop things falling through the cracks.
• HR strategy and leadership - acting as your fractional Chief People Officer for board-level people matters, organisational design, and scaling decisions
• Tricky situations - performance management, exits, redundancy, and the conversations nobody wants to have but everyone eventually does.

How it works

We work on retainer or project basis, depending on what you need. Most clients are at the stage where they need more than occasional advice but aren't ready or don't want a full-time HR hire. Fractional means you get the expertise when you need it, without the overhead when you don't.

We're also comfortable working alongside your legal team. If Sprintlaw lawyers has helped you get the structure right, we make sure the people side keeps pace.

Who we work with

Founders who are good at their thing and want HR handled by someone who's good at theirs. Teams that have grown faster than their processes. Leaders dealing with their first difficult people situation and not wanting to get it wrong.

If that's you, let's talk.