Divorce is costing your business.
Let’s change that.
Specialist workplace support for employers who want to help their people through family breakdown, and keep their best talent in the process.
Nobody talks about divorce at work.
We talk about menopause. We talk about mental health. We talk about bereavement and neurodiversity and caring responsibilities.
But divorce, which affects 42% of marriages and overwhelmingly happens during our working years, is still treated as something people should just quietly get on with.
I’ve been a divorce coach for over ten years. Before that, I was a family lawyer and mediator. And one of the things I hear most often from the women I work with is this:
“I can’t let anyone at work know what’s happening.”
Not because their employers are unkind. But because there is no language for it. No policy. No pathway. No signal from the organisation that says: we see you, and we want to help you manage your work and your divorce..
The Problem
The research is hard to ignore.
A study by Rayden Solicitors (2021) found that 39% of divorcing employees experienced a measurable drop in productivity, and 10% left their jobs within the first year of separation.
People Management (2023) reported that 74% of employees going through divorce said they felt less efficient at work.
And research by HR consultancy Boudica & Eir found that 71% of employees who were working when they separated left their jobs within a year. Just 9% said they were well-supported by their employer (HR Magazine, 2024).
That is not just a wellbeing issue. That is a retention crisis hiding in plain sight.
What I Offer
I work with employers who want to do better. Not because it looks good on a benefits page, but because it makes a real difference to real people, and to the organisations they work for.
Here is what that can look like.
Manager Workshops
“Supporting Employees Through Family Breakdown”
A half-day interactive workshop for line managers and HR professionals. I cover how to recognise the signs, how to have the conversation, what to say and what not to say, reasonable adjustments that actually help, and when to refer to specialist support.
Every manager leaves with a practical toolkit they can use straight away.
Keynote Talks
A 60-minute talk for wellbeing events, away days, or awareness weeks. Data-led, practical, compassionate. I bring the research, the real-world stories (anonymised), and a clear call to action for what your organisation can do next.
Employee Coaching
Confidential 1:1 coaching sessions for employees going through separation or divorce. These can be offered through your existing wellbeing programme as a specialist support pathway.
I help your employees make clearer decisions, regulate the emotional overwhelm that comes with family breakdown, and stay focused at work when everything else feels chaotic.
Family Breakdown Policy Consultancy
Most organisations have bereavement policies. Many now have menopause policies. Very few have anything in place for family breakdown.
I help you develop a Family Breakdown Support Policy that sits alongside your existing wellbeing framework. This includes a discovery session, policy drafting, and a briefing for your HR team on implementation.
Annual Wellbeing Partnership
For organisations who want ongoing, embedded support. This combines a keynote or awareness event, manager training, a bank of employee coaching sessions, and policy review across the year.
Why Me?
I am not an HR consultant. I am a former family lawyer, a qualified mediator, and a trauma-responsive divorce coach and family consultant who has spent a decade supporting people through one of the most difficult transitions of their lives.
I know what divorcing employees actually need. Not because I have read about it, but because I work with them every day. I know what good support looks like, what well-meaning managers get wrong, and what keeps talented people in their roles when they might otherwise walk away.
I also know that this does not need to be complicated or expensive. A trained manager who knows what to say. A confidential coaching option. A simple policy that acknowledges divorce as a legitimate life event. These small things make an enormous difference.
Divorce is not going away.
But the silence around it at work can.
If you are an HR professional, people leader, or business owner and you would like to explore what divorce-informed workplace support could look like for your organisation, I would welcome a conversation.
Book a 30-minute call or email me at emma@emmaheptonstall.com