Marches HR is now Cyber Essentials certified – 4 reasons this matters to your business or charity

Why we’ve taken this step

We’re delighted to share that Marches HR is now Cyber Essentials certified. Woohoo!

For us, being Cyber Essentials certified is about more than adding a logo to our website – it’s about making sure every piece of personal data you share with us is handled with the highest level of care and security.

When you work with an HR consultancy, you inevitably share a large amount of personal and sensitive information:

• Employee contracts

• Payroll details

• Absence and sickness records

• Notes from investigations or grievances

• Medical or occupational health reports

That’s why it’s essential to know your HR partner’s Cyber Essentials certified and has clear systems, processes and procedures in place to keep that information secure.

This level of trust is particularly important in HR because the nature of the information we handle isn’t just confidential… it can also be sensitive, emotive and time-critical. Losing control of that data, even unintentionally, can damage relationships, reputation and in some cases lead to legal consequences. Cyber Essentials certification gives you, and us, the reassurance that we’re working to a proven standard designed to keep risks low and confidence high

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a UK Government-backed certification that helps guard against the most common cyber threats.

To become Cyber Essentials certified, we underwent a detailed review of how we protect our systems and data, ensuring we meet recognised security standards. This isn’t about ticking boxes… it’s about making sure the way our systems work is robust enough to protect your data now and in the future.

It covers 5 key areas of cyber security – from secure internet connections and access control to software updates and protection against malware. Each element plays a role in preventing the types of cyber incidents that are, unfortunately, becoming more common for organisations of every size.

Being Cyber Essentials certified means our processes have been independently assessed and approved by an accredited body.

Expert support at every stage

We didn’t try to navigate the Cyber Essentials certified process ourselves. It was important to us to have specialist cyber security guidance every step of the way.

A huge thank you to Antony Fernandez and Marcus Terrett of John Finch Computers for their support. They guided us through the Cyber Essentials certified requirements, made practical recommendations and ensured we got it right first time. Their advice has been invaluable in making sure our systems are secure, compliant and ready to evolve with future risks.

By partnering with experts, we’ve not only met the standard… we’ve built stronger internal practices that’ll continue to protect client information long after the certification process is complete.

Why this matters for small businesses and charities

If you’re a small business or charity, you might assume cyber security’s something that only larger organisations need to worry about. Unfortunately, the opposite’s often true… smaller organisations can be targeted because they’re perceived as having fewer safeguards in place.

When you choose a Cyber Essentials certified HR consultancy, you benefit from:

• Peace of mind – knowing your sensitive data’s handled to recognised security standards

• Reduced risk – we’ve taken steps to guard against common cyber threats and breaches

• Independent verification – it’s not just our word; our systems have been formally assessed

• Confidence to share – you can provide the information we need to support you, without worrying about its safety

It also means we can work seamlessly with clients who have their own regulatory requirements, such as GDPR compliance, safeguarding obligations or sector-specific audit standards. Our Cyber Essentials certified status helps you demonstrate to your stakeholders, funders or trustees that you’ve chosen a supplier who takes data protection seriously.

Our commitment to doing things properly

From HR best practice to data protection, we believe in doing things the right way. Achieving our Cyber Essentials certified status is another step in ensuring we give our clients not just great HR advice, but the confidence that their data is safe in our hands.

Find out more

If you’d like to know more about Cyber Essentials certified organisations and what the scheme involves, you can visit the official NCSC website.

Need HR support you can trust?

If you’re a small business or charity looking for HR advice, templates or guidance… and you want the reassurance that your data’s in safe hands with a Cyber Essentials certified HR consultancy, then we’d love to talk.

Get in touch with us today to arrange a friendly, no-obligation chat.