Anna Thomas

The Practical People Manager with Anna Thomas

Business EN ↓ 4 episodes

The Practical People Manager is the podcast for line managers, HR professionals, and business leaders who want to manage people well, with more confidence and less jargon. Hosted by HR Expert, Anna Thomas, each episode brings real conversations with experts and practitioners covering the topics that matter most at work, from mental health and neurodiversity to menopause and beyond. This is practical, people-first leadership. No fluff. Just honest conversations to help you listen better, lead with confidence, and support the people around you.

Author

Anna Thomas

Episodes

Why Every Line Manager Needs to Understand Employment Law, with Nic Elliott from Acton Solicitors 08.07.2026 36:07

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, th...

Menopause at Work: What Line Managers Need to Know and Why It Matters 23.06.2026 28:02

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 organi...

Mental Health at Work: How Line Managers Can Spot the Signs and Start the Conversation 23.06.2026 28:06

One in six people in the workplace will have a diagnosable mental health condition at any given time. Yet the biggest barrier to getting help is not the availability of support. It is silence. In this episode, Anna is joined by Yohan Macdonald, founder of Great Minds Training, who has been specialising in mental health, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion since 2015, delivering programmes for organ...

ADHD at Work: What Every Line Manager Needs to Know 23.06.2026 33:06

If you manage people, chances are someone on your team has ADHD, whether they have told you or not. In this episode, Anna is joined by Ellie Kay, an ICF-accredited ADHD and AuDHD coach, neurodiversity specialist, workplace mediator, and keynote speaker. Ellie was diagnosed with combined-type ADHD at 45, after more than two decades running her own business, and now uses that lived experience alongs...