Workplace conflict is inevitable. But the damage it causes, the stress, the time, the cost, and the human toll, is largely avoidable. In this episode, Anna is joined by Pete Colby, founder of Pragmatism and a workplace mediator, trainer, and employee relations specialist with four decades of experience spanning the steel, food, and aerospace industries. Pete is allergic to grievances, as he puts it, and has spent his career helping organisations understand why the answer to conflict is almost never a formal process.

Pete explains why the root cause of most workplace disputes comes back to the same thing: a lack of confidence to have honest, human conversations early. He shares what happens when small tensions go unaddressed, how quickly emails replace conversation and positions harden, and why the most common thing people say in mediation is that they wish someone had simply asked how they were doing, often years earlier.

Anna and Pete explore the pressure managers face when they feel ill-equipped to navigate difficult conversations, particularly around topics like mental health, menopause, or race, and why the fear of saying the wrong thing so often leads to saying nothing at all. Pete shares a compelling real-world example of how a single word triggered a discrimination allegation, and how a skilled conversation turned it into one of the most productive outcomes either party could have imagined.

They also challenge the reflex to reach straight for the grievance policy, and make the case for building a culture where formal processes gather dust because they are simply never needed.

This is part one of a three-part conversation with Pete. Part two moves into mediation itself: what it is, what it is not, and how it supports people when working relationships have become truly stuck.

Find out more about Pete's work at 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

Employment tribunal claims are rising sharply, and employment lawyer Nic Elliott says AI is playing a bigger role in that shift than most HR teams realise. Nic heads the employment team at Actons Solicitors in Nottingham and is also the firm's own HR director, giving him a rare view of both sides of the desk.

In this episode, Anna and Nic get into why claims have climbed since the pandemic, the strange new dynamic AI is creating around grievances and settlements, and why so many workplace policies do more harm than good. They also talk difficult conversations, performance management done properly, and the major shift coming to unfair dismissal law in January 2027, changes that will affect an estimated 6.3 million employees and reshape how every manager approaches probation and recruitment.

Find out more about Nic's work at https://www.actons.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 Anna on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

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

One in ten women leave their careers because of menopause. Many more stay but struggle in silence, masking their symptoms and running on empty while nobody around them knows why. In this episode, Anna is joined by Angela Wilkins-Green, an ICF-accredited executive and transformation coach and menopause workplace specialist. With over 25 years in senior leadership roles, Angela now works with organisations to embed menopause awareness, manager training and one-to-one coaching support that goes well beyond the policy document.

Angela begins by unpacking the difference between perimenopause and menopause, and the reality may surprise you. The lead-up to menopause can start in a woman's late thirties and last up to fourteen years, and the earliest signs are often psychological rather than physical: anxiety, low confidence, mood changes, and a gradual sense of not feeling like yourself anymore.

Anna shares her own experience navigating a GP system that initially offered little clarity, and Angela explains why women need to advocate for themselves in a healthcare landscape that is still catching up. They discuss the wide range of symptoms that extend far beyond hot flushes, why a standalone menopause policy rarely makes the difference organisations think it will, and what genuinely effective workplace support looks like in practice, including the role of menopause champions and the new Employment Rights Act menopause action plans that came into force in April 2026.

The business case is clear: if organisations are not having this conversation, they are losing experienced women, often without ever knowing why.

This is part one of a three-part conversation with Angela. Part two explores what practical support looks like for individuals and teams.

Find out more about Angela's work at https://www.greenpathcoaching.com

Connect with Anna

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