The Practical People Manager with Anna Thomas

Most organisations have a maternity policy. Far fewer have a maternity experience worth talking about. In this episode, Anna is joined by Zoe Duce, founder of MoveThru, a former Projects Director who spent over 15 years managing large teams in media, advertising and at Amazon before becoming a mother herself and turning her experience into a practical resource for professional parents and the companies that employ them.

Zoe explains why the return from maternity leave so often goes wrong, and the answer is almost always the same: a combination of silence, assumption, and a process that is designed around the organisation rather than the person coming back. Managers assume the employee knows what to expect. Employees assume the manager has done this before. Neither is usually true.

The conversation covers the practical steps that make a genuine difference: how to use keeping in touch days properly rather than treating them as a casual coffee, why a 90-day return plan created together by manager and employee removes the anxiety on both sides, and why flexible working requests should never come as a surprise on day one if the right conversations have been happening throughout leave.

Zoe also challenges a widespread but rarely examined problem: companies that have excellent policies nobody knows about, or worse, policies that exist on paper but that employees feel they cannot actually use without being judged for it. She shares what it looks like when culture quietly overrides policy, and what organisations can do about it.

For line managers specifically, Zoe is clear: do not avoid. More regular check-ins, a shared plan, and an open conversation about what both sides need are the things that keep talented people in the building.

Find out more about Zoe’s work with individuals and organisations at movethru.co.uk. Her free Maternity Leave Project Plan, a shared resource for managers and employees covering every stage of the process, is available to download at https://www.movethru.co.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you’d like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you.

Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: thepeopleexpert.co.uk

Content warning: This episode contains open discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, and domestic abuse. If you are affected by any of the topics covered, support is available. Samaritans can be reached any time on 116 123, free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Some conversations feel too big, too risky, or too far outside a manager’s remit to have. In part two of her conversation with Andrea Newton, founder of Confident Conversations and a specialist in suicide prevention, domestic abuse, and mental health in the workplace, Anna moves into the territory most managers avoid entirely.

Andrea begins by tackling one of the most persistent myths in mental health: that if someone tells you they are thinking about ending their life, it means they are not serious. Not true, she says plainly, and the evidence backs her up. More than 80% of people experiencing suicidal thoughts will signal it to someone, but rarely in explicit terms. A manager who knows what to listen for, and feels confident enough to ask directly, can make a genuine difference.

She also challenges the assumption that suicide is always a mental health issue requiring a clinical solution. Around half of deaths by suicide involve people who are not mentally ill but are simply overwhelmed by circumstances: debt, housing, relationship breakdown, loss. Andrea shares a powerful real example of someone whose situation was transformed not by a prescription or a therapy referral, but by an appointment at the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The conversation moves into domestic abuse, where Andrea makes the case that it rarely presents with visible signs. Coercive control, financial restriction, unexplained anxiety, and an inability to stay late or attend social events are all signals that a manager who knows their people might notice. She signposts the organisation EIDAS for employers looking to build policy and awareness in this area.

Throughout, Andrea’s message is consistent: your job is not to become the help. It is to help people get the help they need. Staying curious, listening well, and knowing where to signpost is enough. Taking on the role of primary support is not just unhelpful. It is a risk to the manager as much as to the individual.

This is part two of Anna’s conversation with Andrea Newton. Find out more about Andrea’s training, speaking, and dual risk work at confidentconversations.co.uk

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week)

Papyrus (support for young people and those concerned about them): 0800 068 4141

EIDAS (employers and domestic abuse): eidas.org.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you’d like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you.

Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: thepeopleexpert.co.uk

How confident are you at starting a conversation about mental health with your team? Most managers aren't - and that silence can be dangerous.

In this episode, Anna Thomas sits down with Andrea Newton, founder of Confident Conversations Limited, to unpack why managers shy away from sensitive conversations and what they can do about it. With 27 years of experience helping leaders navigate difficult discussions, Andrea shares practical, compassionate advice for tackling topics like mental health, menopause, suicide prevention, and domestic abuse in the workplace.

What we cover:

• How to spot the signs someone on your team is struggling
• Why knowing your people is the foundation of good management
• The power of compassion and curiosity over diagnosis and advice
• How to start a difficult conversation (without making it feel like an attack)
• Why silence is one of the most important tools a manager has
• Listening to understand vs. listening to reply
• Why rolling out a policy isn't enough - and what actually builds confidence
• The Wizard of Oz analogy: why you don't need to be the expert

Whether you're a new line manager or a seasoned leader, this episode is packed with real-world strategies to help you show up as a human being first - and a manager second.

Find out more about Andrea’s work at https://confidentconversations.co.uk

LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr⁠ Instagram: ⁠

Instagram.com/practicalmanager⁠ 

TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager⁠ 

The People Expert: ⁠https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk⁠

In the final part of her conversation with Pete Colby, founder of Pragmatism, Anna moves into what organisations and managers can do differently to stop conflict escalating, and why the current approach to employment tribunals represents a massive and largely avoidable problem.

Pete opens with a practical challenge to the way organisations handle flexible working requests, arguing that the form should follow the conversation, not replace it. The same logic applies to performance improvement plans, grievance policies, and almost every other formal process: the structure exists to document what should already have happened, not to substitute for it.

The conversation takes a genuinely surprising turn when Pete makes the case for trade unions as one of the most powerful and underused allies a manager can have. Drawing on his own experience taking a site from twelve grievances a week to one, and helping Rolls-Royce avoid 2,000 compulsory redundancies, Pete explains why the relationship between management and unions is almost always about trust, and why the person you least want to talk to is usually the one you most need to.

Anna and Pete also address the broader backdrop to rising grievances and tribunal claims: the cost of living, the pressure people are under outside work, and why workplaces have become one of the few places where people feel they can push back. Pete's response is characteristically direct. You cannot fix everything, but you can listen. And being heard matters more than people realise.

The episode closes with Pete's advice for managers who feel uncomfortable having difficult conversations: that discomfort is normal, it is not a personal failing, and the way through it is to develop the confidence to have a go.

Find out more about Pete's work at https://pragmatism-uk.co.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you. Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr⁠ Instagram: ⁠

Instagram.com/practicalmanager⁠ 

TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager⁠ 

The People Expert: ⁠https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk⁠

In the final part of her conversation with Yohan Macdonald, founder of Great Minds Training, Anna turns to two of the most fundamental questions in people management: what is the real role of HR when it comes to mental health and wellbeing, and what does it actually take to build the trust that makes every other conversation possible?

Yohan is clear that if HR is where a wellbeing strategy starts and ends, the organisation is already on the back foot. HR has a vital role as a connector and a support, but the conversations that matter most need to happen between managers and their people, not be handed upwards. Anna reflects honestly on how easy it is for HR professionals to step in and take over, and why that can actually rob managers of the very experiences that would build their confidence over time.

The conversation moves into trust, and Yohan draws on Brené Brown's marble jar analogy to explain why trust is built slowly, through consistent small actions, and why a single act of betrayal can shatter it entirely. He makes the point that no one shares something meaningful with someone they do not trust, and that trust is something you earn through what you do, not what you say.

Anna and Yohan also explore the question of whether people management is actually the right role for everyone. Yohan is refreshingly honest about what he has seen in training rooms and what it means when someone consistently meets resistance from their team. The answer, sometimes, is that people management is simply not the right fit.

The episode closes with Yohan's three-word takeaway for every line manager listening: start the conversation.

Find out more about Yohan's work, including his SAFE Conversation Framework and free wellbeing strategy assessment, at https://greatminds.training

Connect with Anna:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hrInstagram: instagram.com/practicalmanagerTikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanagerThe People Expert: https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk

In the final part of her conversation with Ellie Kay, ADHD and AuDHD coach and neurodiversity specialist, Anna moves into coaching, conflict, and what genuinely inclusive management looks like in practice.

Ellie explains what ADHD coaching actually involves and why it is different from traditional coaching. For many people, especially those newly diagnosed, it starts with validation: finally feeling heard, understood, and released from years of shame about things that were never their fault. Ellie also introduces the concept of co-coaching, a facilitated three-way conversation between a coach, a manager, and an employee that can resolve tension before it ever reaches a formal process.

The conversation gets into the specifics of what managers do that unknowingly causes harm. Cancelling meetings with no context, sending a message that just says "can we have a quick chat", or copying someone into a long email about an investigation without any warning. For someone with ADHD, these small things can derail an entire day. The fix, as Ellie makes clear, is often just a few extra words of context.

Anna and Ellie close with a rapid-fire round that distils the whole conversation into practical, immediately usable takeaways: the one question every manager should ask, the one behaviour they should rethink, and the one leadership habit that creates real inclusion.

Ellie also shares something personal: how her ADHD diagnosis helped her finally forgive herself for missing a smear test that led to cervical cancer in her 20s. It is a powerful reminder of why diagnosis matters, and why the shame that goes with undiagnosed neurodivergence has real consequences.

Find out more about Ellie's work at https://www.elliekay.co.uk

Connect with Anna:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk

In the final part of her conversation with Nic Elliott, Director and Head of Employment Law at Actons Solicitors, Anna moves into some of the most sensitive and fast-moving areas of employment law that managers are navigating right now.

Nic breaks down the current legal position on sexual harassment, including the duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent it, and the incoming third-party harassment provisions that will extend liability to the behaviour of customers, clients, and contractors. He explains why a risk assessment is the foundation of any credible approach, and shares how his own organisation went about identifying where the risks actually sit.

The conversation turns to menopause, where Nic draws on personal experience to bring the legal picture to life. He is clear on what managers should and should not do, and why the answer to the question of how a male manager raises menopause with a female colleague is simply: you do not. What you do instead is ask if they are okay, whether there is anything you can do to help, and create the conditions where someone feels safe enough to tell you what is going on.

Anna and Nic also cover the new Fair Work Agency, which came into force in April 2026 combining several existing government bodies, and what employers need to know about its powers around holiday pay, sick pay, and national minimum wage compliance.

The episode closes on the Employment Rights Act more broadly, and why Nic's advice to managers is straightforward: seek out training, ask for it if it is not being offered, and do not wait for the detail to be handed to you.

Find out more about Nic's work at actons.co.uk

Connect with Anna:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk

Most managers have heard of mediation. Far fewer understand what it actually is or how to use it. In part two of her conversation with Pete Colby, founder of Pragmatism, Anna gets into the heart of it: what mediation really means, why it is fundamentally different from a grievance process, and how managers can use the same principles informally before conflict has a chance to escalate.Pete draws a clear distinction between mediation and grievance. A grievance looks backwards, trying to prove what happened and who was at fault. Mediation looks forward, helping people understand each other and agree on how things could be different. As Pete puts it, the question is never who said what two weeks ago. It is how do we want this to work going forward.Anna and Pete explore what it takes for a manager to stay genuinely neutral when they know both parties involved, and why that is one of the hardest skills to develop. Pete shares a remarkable story from his own mediation experience involving a doctor, a dress, and a disciplinary process that could have been avoided entirely if someone had simply asked the right question earlier. The lesson is the same one that runs through every episode: honest, curious conversations prevent most of the situations that end up becoming formal.They also get into the growing phenomenon of AI-generated grievances, some running to hundreds of pages, and why Pete's advice is not to panic about the document but to focus on the conversation underneath it.This is part two of a three-part conversation with Pete. Part three looks at how managers can spot escalating conflict earlier and what organisations can do to build a healthier culture around disagreement.Find out more about Pete's work at https://pragmatism-uk.co.ukConnect with AnnaGot a question or a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you. Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr⁠

Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/practicalmanager⁠

TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager⁠

The People Expert: ⁠https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk⁠

Most managers have heard of mediation. Far fewer understand what it actually is or how to use it. In part two of her conversation with Pete Colby, founder of Pragmatism, Anna gets into the heart of it: what mediation really means, why it is fundamentally different from a grievance process, and how managers can use the same principles informally before conflict has a chance to escalate.

Pete draws a clear distinction between mediation and grievance. A grievance looks backwards, trying to prove what happened and who was at fault. Mediation looks forward, helping people understand each other and agree on how things could be different. As Pete puts it, the question is never who said what two weeks ago. It is how do we want this to work going forward.

Anna and Pete explore what it takes for a manager to stay genuinely neutral when they know both parties involved, and why that is one of the hardest skills to develop. Pete shares a remarkable story from his own mediation experience involving a doctor, a dress, and a disciplinary process that could have been avoided entirely if someone had simply asked the right question earlier. The lesson is the same one that runs through every episode: honest, curious conversations prevent most of the situations that end up becoming formal.

They also get into the growing phenomenon of AI-generated grievances, some running to hundreds of pages, and why Pete's advice is not to panic about the document but to focus on the conversation underneath it.

This is part two of a three-part conversation with Pete. Part three looks at how managers can spot escalating conflict earlier and what organisations can do to build a healthier culture around disagreement.

Find out more about Pete's work at https://pragmatism-uk.co.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you.

Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr⁠ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/practicalmanager⁠ TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager⁠ The People Expert: ⁠https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk⁠

Most organisations think they are doing enough on mental health. They have an employee assistance programme, a cohort of trained mental health first aiders, and maybe a policy. In part two of her conversation with Yohan Macdonald, founder of Great Minds Training, Anna explores why that reactive approach is leaving huge gaps, and what a genuinely proactive wellbeing culture actually looks like.

Yohan introduces The Bridge, his six-step consultancy programme, walking through how organisations can move from firefighting to strategy. It starts with a business audit, using existing HR data, absence figures, engagement scores, and exit interviews, to understand where the gaps really are. From there it builds through infrastructure, training delivery, and ongoing measurement, because as Yohan points out, if you cannot measure it, you cannot prove it is working.

The conversation gets into the numbers. Research from Deloitte puts the average cost of poor mental health per employee at £1,230 a year, while a well-embedded proactive approach can return £6.30 for every pound invested. For senior leaders who need a business case, this episode provides one.

Anna and Yohan also tackle psychological safety in male-dominated industries, where Yohan draws on two years delivering training almost exclusively in construction, the sector with the highest suicide rates in the UK. His experience runs counter to expectation: given the right environment and permission to speak, men do open up. The key is creating the conditions, not waiting for the moment.

The episode closes on an important and often overlooked issue: the manager who cares too much. Yohan is clear on the need for boundaries, what a line manager's role actually is, where it ends, and why blurring those lines puts both the manager and the individual at risk.

This is part two of a three-part conversation with Yohan. Part three looks at the role HR and people teams play in supporting line managers, and why people management is a skill that can always be developed.

Find out more about Yohan's work at https://greatminds.training

Connect with Anna:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: https://www.thepeopleexpert.co.uk