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In-house or outsourced HR for a restaurant
Written by Back of House Ops, which is one of the options compared. Checked on October 1, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Should a restaurant hire an HR person or outsource HR?
Most independent restaurants are too small to keep an HR specialist busy, and too exposed to leave the work undone. Outsourcing the recurring paperwork and payroll preparation usually fits up to a few locations. An in-house hire starts to make sense when you need someone on site every day for hiring, training and employee relations.
What the job actually contains
"HR" in a restaurant is four different jobs, and they do not all belong with the same person.
| Work | Examples | Best done by |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring administration | New hire files, I-9s, state reports, timecard review, payroll preparation, separations | A person or service that does it every cycle without fail |
| People management | Hiring decisions, coaching, write-ups, schedules | Your managers, on site |
| Policy and judgment | Handbook, hard terminations, complaints, leave requests | Owner, with an HR adviser or attorney |
| Legal questions | Claims, audits, agency letters | An employment attorney |
Hiring in-house
An in-house HR or office manager is in the building, knows the staff and can sit in on a difficult conversation the same afternoon. That presence is the reason to hire.
The cost is a salary. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2025, as published by O*NET, puts median pay for a human resources specialist in Massachusetts at $85,630 a year, before employer taxes and benefits. In a single restaurant the role usually becomes part HR, part bookkeeping and part everything else, and the HR part is the first to slip on a busy week.
The other risk is that the knowledge lives in one person. When they take a vacation, or leave, payroll preparation and the files go with them.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing covers the first row of the table: the administration. With BOHO that means onboarding paperwork, personnel files, handbook upkeep and payroll inputs prepared each cycle for your approval, for a flat $495 to $1,795+ a month depending on size. The service scope page lists what is and is not included.
It does not put a person in your dining room. Your managers still hire, coach and discipline, and you still make every employment decision. If you want someone else to become the employer, that is a PEO, which is a different arrangement; see HR service vs PEO vs payroll software.
A rough guide by size
| Restaurant | What usually works |
|---|---|
| One location, under about 25 staff | Owner or GM manages people; administration outsourced or done carefully in payroll software |
| One or two locations, 26 to 75 staff | Administration outsourced; managers trained to document; an attorney on call |
| Three or more locations | Administration outsourced or a dedicated in-house hire, plus consistent policies across rooms |
| Large groups | In-house HR lead, with outside help for payroll operations and legal work |
These are patterns we see, not rules. The deciding question is whether the recurring work is getting done every cycle today, and by whom.
Massachusetts rules
The rules any option has to handle
Is sick time paid or unpaid, and how do we count employees?
Employers with 11 or more employees must pay for sick time; smaller employers must provide it but can leave it unpaid. Count every full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary employee on payroll in each pay period of the prior year, then divide by the number of pay periods.
Full answer and official sourceDoes a restaurant need a written sexual harassment policy?
Yes, with six or more employees. Every employee gets an individual written copy each year, and new hires get one when they start.
Full answer and official sourceCan a current or former employee see their personnel file?
Yes. Within five business days of a written request, the employer must let the employee review their personnel record, and provide a copy on request, up to twice a year. You must also tell an employee within 10 days when you add negative information, such as a write-up, to their file.
Full answer and official sourceWhy are wage mistakes so expensive in Massachusetts?
Because triple damages are mandatory. Under the Wage Act, an employee who wins must be awarded three times the unpaid or late wages, plus litigation costs and attorney's fees, and the court has no discretion to reduce that.
Full answer and official source
Rules checked against official sources on . General information, not legal or tax advice.
Common questions
Do restaurants have HR?
Larger groups often have an HR lead. Most independent restaurants do not, and the work is split between the owner, the general manager and whoever runs payroll. The obligations are the same either way.
What does an outsourced HR service not do?
It does not make your employment decisions, become the employer or give legal advice. With BOHO, your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves every payroll run.
See whether BOHO fits your restaurant
Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel.