Official UK procurement notice
Invitation to submit a proposal for human resources information system (HRIS) and fully managed payroll service
Authority: VANGUARD LEARNING TRUST (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionVanguard Learning Trust invites qualified suppliers to tender for the provision of a cloud-based human resources information system (HRIS) and a fully managed payroll service to support approximately 615 employees across 6 schools and a central Trust team. The solution must deliver secure, efficient HR and payroll processes, ensure statutory compliance with UK employment, pensions and HMRC regulations, and provide high-quality support to both Trust leaders and school-based staff.
Objectives
The Trust aims to procure a combined HRIS and payroll solution that:
Provides a single source of truth for employee data across all schools and the Trust's central team.
Reduces administrative workloads and manual processing.
Ensures accurate, timely payroll with all third-party submissions completed by the provider, including HMRC, pension providers, and statutory bodies.
Supports workforce planning, reporting, and strategic oversight at Trust level.
Offers excellent employee and manager self-service.
Ensures data security, GDPR compliance, and UK-based hosting.
Scope of software and services
The software will include:
General HR system of record (SoR)
Absence and attendance management functionality, which will link to occupational sickness scheme requirements
Time and expenses (the functionality for employees to log additional hours and expenses, which would only be approved at managerial level)
Organisation structure
Employee Self Service
Manager Self Service
People Analytics
A fully managed payroll and pension service
The Trust would not be procuring the functionality below in the first instance but may consider doing at a later date. These are, therefore, 'desirable' rather than 'essential':
Integrated applicant tracking and onboarding functionality
Performance management and appraisal functionality
Case management functionality
The service provision will include:
Fully managed payroll services
Fully managed pensions services
Solution hosting
Requirements
Our requirements (functional and non-functional) have been listed and are provided in an Excel sheet along with this document.
Supplier Responses
Suppliers are requested to complete the supplier response columns within the requirements document and to provide a commercial proposal using the template in the attached sheet. Additionally, please provide a high level project plan to demonstrate the timescales that your solution could be deployed in and a copy of your customer support service-level agreement (SLA). Finally, short-listed providers will be required to complete the Trust's data protection impact assessment (DPIA).
CPV: Personnel and payroll services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Framework period
- 4 yrs · up to 5 yrs from 1 Apr 2027
Published description of the framework
Suppliers are requested to complete the supplier response columns within the requirements document and to provide a commercial proposal using the template in the attached sheet. Additionally, please provide a high level project plan to demonstrate the timescales that your solution could be deployed in and a copy of your customer support service-level agreement (SLA). Finally, short-listed providers will be required to complete the Trust's data protection impact assessment (DPIA).
The supplier responses have been separated into the following sections within the Excel sheet:
High level requirements
These are deemed as essentials - if the solution is not able to meet all of the requirements in this section the supplier will not be shortlisted.
HR/payroll software requirements
These are the software requirements that we deem to be 'non-standard'.
Payroll service requirements
This section confirms what we expect to be provided with as part of the supplier submission.
Non-functional requirements
This section is for the supplier to confirm the arrangements relating to security.
Commercial submission
Suppliers should complete the provided table for ease of comparison.
Please note that for any of the above requirements suppliers may include as many appendices to their responses as required, please confirm which appendix you are referencing for that question within the submission document.
Responses will be evaluated using a scoring system from 0 to 4 as described below.
0 = Unacceptable - There is insufficient detail in the response to enable a satisfactory degree of consideration. The response presents significant risks to the overall service delivery.
1 = Unsatisfactory - There is a lack of detail in the response and it provides for only some aspect of the scope of service delivery. The response presents some risks to the overall service delivery.
2 = Satisfactory - The response provides sufficient detail to enable an adequate degree of consideration and provides for most aspects of the scope of service delivery. The response presents minor risks to the overall service delivery.
3 = Good - The response provides sufficient detail to enable a good degree of consideration and provides for the full scope of service delivery. The response presents no risks or concerns to the overall service delivery.
4 = Excellent - The response provides sufficient detail to enable an excellent degree of consideration and provides for the full scope of service delivery. The response presents no risks or concerns to the overall service delivery.
Responses will be individually assessed according to the scoring system above. They will then weighted according to the specifications provided in the documentation.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£200,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Lot awarding rule: Suppliers are requested to complete the supplier response columns within the requirements document and to provide a commercial proposal using the template in the attached sheet. Additionally, please provide a high level project plan to demonstrate the timescales that your solution could be deployed in and a copy of your customer support service-level agreement (SLA). Finally, short-listed providers will be required to complete the Trust's data protection impact assessment (DPIA). The supplier responses have been separated into the following sections within the Excel sheet: High level requirements These are deemed as essentials - if the solution is not able to meet all of the requirements in this section the supplier will not be shortlisted. HR/payroll software requirements These are the software requirements that we deem to be 'non-standard'. Payroll service requirements This section confirms what we expect to be provided with as part of the supplier submission. Non-functional requirements This section is for the supplier to confirm the arrangements relating to security. Commercial submission Suppliers should complete the provided table for ease of comparison. Please note that for any of the above requirements suppliers may include as many appendices to their responses as required, please confirm which appendix you are referencing for that question within the submission document. Responses will be evaluated using a scoring system from 0 to 4 as described below. 0 = Unacceptable - There is insufficient detail in the response to enable a satisfactory degree of consideration. The response presents significant risks to the overall service delivery. 1 = Unsatisfactory - There is a lack of detail in the response and it provides for only some aspect of the scope of service delivery. The response presents some risks to the overall service delivery. 2 = Satisfactory - The response provides sufficient detail to enable an adequate degree of consideration and provides for most aspects of the scope of service delivery. The response presents minor risks to the overall service delivery. 3 = Good - The response provides sufficient detail to enable a good degree of consideration and provides for the full scope of service delivery. The response presents no risks or concerns to the overall service delivery. 4 = Excellent - The response provides sufficient detail to enable an excellent degree of consideration and provides for the full scope of service delivery. The response presents no risks or concerns to the overall service delivery. Responses will be individually assessed according to the scoring system above. They will then weighted according to the specifications provided in the documentation.
- “Invitation to submit a proposal for human resources information system…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 24 Aug 2026, 09:23 BST
- Last source update
- 11 Sept 2026, 10:25 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-080155- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ea20Find a Tender
- Reserved participation area
- K02000001
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 14 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 4 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
Timeline
24 Aug 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published58 days ago24 Aug 2026, 09:23 BST
- Clarification questions by47 days ago4 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Latest notice published40 days ago11 Sept 2026, 10:25 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends37 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown14 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 161 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 24 Aug 2026- Tender notice published24 Aug 2026, 09:23 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published11 Sept 2026, 10:25 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender