DutyDuke vs RootHR

DutyDuke is a free, open-source HR management platform for small and mid-sized companies. It runs on the web or through self-hosting. Employee profiles can contain skills, education, employment history, documents, equipment, benefits, feedback, salary history, and absence records. Leave tools handle requests, approvals, calendar views, and iCal export. Company documents support version and deadline tracking, while equipment records cover inventory and assignments. Additional functions include benefit plans, performance feedback sessions, and PDF exports of employee profiles as CVs. Employees have self-service access, with role-based permissions and API access. Email notifications use configurable SMTP, including production setups pointing to Amazon SES, SendGrid, or Mailgun. Documentation describes field-level encryption, JWT authentication, and role-based access control. Self-registration is unavailable: the initial owner account must be created with a command-line script.

RootHR combines HR administration, workforce operations, and UKVI compliance in a cloud platform for UK employers. Its HR features include employee records, onboarding, attendance, leave, rota planning, recruitment, performance management, and document management. Compliance tools cover Right to Work checks, eVisa monitoring, sponsor licence management, expiry alerts, and compliance dashboards. The mobile app gives employees access to a directory, attendance, documents, and compliance alerts, and supports leave approval. The platform also lists employee self-service, role-based permissions, and an audit log. Root HR describes the service as secure and cloud-based and links to a Cyber Essentials certificate. All plans include standard support; Business Plus lists 24/7 priority support and a dedicated account manager. Enterprise includes a dedicated server environment and mobile app, with custom workflows and integrations but no named third-party services. Root HR says it serves UK businesses across sectors including healthcare, care homes, hospitality, retail, construction, and professional services. It advertises free onboarding, no setup fees, and UK-based support. The listed Business Starter annual price is £120 billed yearly, with a £14/month option, for up to 15 employees; prices exclude VAT.