In this episode, Kate is joined by Mustafa Faruqi from Tesco, James Hayhurst, founder of The Positive Parenting Alliance and The Parents Promise and Jimi Odel from OneplusOne to discuss separation and the workplace.

Kate, Mustafa, James, and Jimi begin by looking at what employers can do to support their employees during a separation, especially in the wake of the movement to ‘bring your whole self to work’. Jimi and Mustafa touch on how employees can tell work about a separation and how managers can navigate these conversations. They explore the different policies and practices that might be in place, as well as how employers can create a culture that opens communication about life events which may impact work performance or work patterns. This is a brilliant episode for those going through a separation and people more generally, as it gives great tips about talking to and supporting colleagues.

You can find OnePlusOne's tips for employers and the OLPAC approach by following this link. For more information and to sign up for and download The Parents Promise HR initiative resources, click here.

About the guests:

Mustafa Faruqi is Head of Reward and Workplace Relations at Tesco. Tesco, a leading multinational retailer with over 330,000 employees, is among the major employers committed to a new initiative to support staff going through separation. Before this, he worked for several prominent companies in the private and public sectors, including British Airways, Heathrow Airport and Network Rail. His career in human resources has specialised in negotiating with trade unions, implementing workplace change, developing HR policies and managing employee casework, including employment tribunals.

Jimi Odell is the content manager at OnePlusOne, a relationship support charity with more than fifty years of experience in creating evidence-based early intervention resources to help people build and maintain healthy relationships. 

James Hayhurst is the founder of The Positive Parenting Alliance and creator of The Parents Promise.  He set up The Positive Parenting Alliance, having seen up close the many issues in the family courts and the scale and numbers of children affected. In May 2021, the Parents Promise was launched after many conversations with like-minded people and organisations.