Mums.Dads.Work‪.‬ Ben Falk

In the final episode of the season, Ben and Mandy are joined by Jules Hawkins, founder of the Single Mums Business Network to discuss setting up a business as a single parent.
Jules tells Ben and Mandy about becoming a single mum at 35 and the stigma she faced at work, which led her to set up the Business Network to help support other single mums going through the same thing.
Jules unpacks the way single mums are treated at work and the lack of government support for single parents, delving into how she manages childcare, to how important flexible working is considering single parents are not given any guidance as to where to find support and that there is no legislation for them to submit reasonable flexible working requests.
Thanks so much to Jules for joining for the last episode of the season. You can find all other episodes wherever you get your podcasts and find more of Ben and Mandy on workingdads.co.uk, workingmums.co.uk and workingwise.co.uk. Have a great festive season, that’s a wrap on season 2!
Produced and edited by Honey Wyatt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week is National Older Workers week, so Ben and Mandy start the fifth episode of Mums.Dads.Work discussing how employers can pay better attention to the age diversity of their employees and support them in every stage of life. 
They are then joined by midlife career transition specialist and author of Dancing with fear and confidence: How to liberate yourself and your career in mid-life, Laura Walker, who explains how to approach a career change in mid life. People often don’t know where they want to go, and managers don’t know how to help people, so Laura explains why some people might want to go through a career transition in mid life and how to go about making a change. She also tells Ben and Mandy about if there are any differences in how men and women approach mid career transitions.
To end the episode, Ben and Mandy discuss how the cost of living crisis is impacting workers, and whether there is any hope for potential future changes to legislation that could help support them.
Thanks for listening, Ben and Mandy will be back next week for the final episode of the season, see you then!
Produced and edited by Honey Wyatt.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben and Mandy kick off the fourth episode of Mums.Dads.Work by talking about the four day work week. Scottish authorities recently tested out a four day working week in response to employees’ burnout and worker shortages, so they discuss how realistic it is we might see a four day work week in future and how the structure of the working week might change in coming generations.
They are then joined by Karen Holden, managing director at A City Law Firm, to discuss employment rights when it comes to flexible working. Karen explains how employees can approach flexible working requests, particularly when it comes to parental leave or disability, and what their rights are. She also explains how employers approach flexible working requests and what they have to take into account when approving the requests. 
Finally, Ben and Mandy end the episode by discussing wraparound childcare allocations, and how the lack of funding for wraparound childcare has knock-on affects on parents’ work.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Mums.Dads.Work. Ben and Mandy will be back in two weeks with another episode. In the meantime you can find more about working parents and get in contact at workingdads.co.uk, workingmums.co.uk and workingwise.co.uk. See you next time.
Produced and edited by Honey Wyatt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In light of Pregnant Then Screwed's stunts at the Labour Party conference earlier this month, Ben and Mandy start their third episode of the season discussing paternity leave. They talk about whether the Labour Party will make paternity leave more accessible for working parents and how companies can enhance their own paternity leave policies in a way that benefits its employers.
They are then joined by Liz Sebag-Montefiori, from 10Eighty career advisers to discuss career progression. Liz offers advice on how to stay visible at work as a working parent, as well as how to progress in your career.
It was World Menopause Day last week so, to end the episode, Ben and Mandy discuss Menopause Awareness Month 2023. Mandy explains the menopause symptoms are not understood and how the menopause can impact on family and working life.
Finally, Ben and Mandy do a final call out to encourage companies to apply for their Top Employer Awards 2023. They'll be back in two weeks with another episode. See you then!
Produced and edited by Honey Wyatt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s World Mental Health Day 2023 this week, so Ben and Mandy start the episode off discussing parents’ mental health, particularly how it can be impacted by their kids’ wellbeing.
They are then joined by Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell to discuss flexible working. Tabytha and Charlotte do a job share at Paris Smith Solicitors, so they explain what a job share involves, as well as the pros and cons of flexible working. They also cover what updates have been made to flexible working legislation in 2023 and changes to expect, advising on how to submit a flexible working request.
To end the episode, Ben and Mandy recommend some parenting books for working mums and dads. They’ll be back in two weeks with another episode. In the meantime, you can get in touch on www.workingdads.co.uk, www.workingmums.co.uk and www.workingwise.co.uk. See you then!
Produced & edited by Honey Wyatt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to season two of the WM People podcast - now called Mums Dads Work!
Over the next six weeks Ben and Mandy will be joined by experts on the topic that week to offer quality advice on everything that impacts working parents, from negotiate flexible working to changing careers. 
This week, they’re joined by The CV Guru Emma Alkirwi to discuss how to compile a CV. Emma offers tips for writing CVs, from how long they should be, to how to order your previous work experience, as well as how to use the right keywords to navigate ATS. 
Emma also covers mistakes people make on their CVs, whether you should consider using a video CV and how to navigate any career gaps you might have, whether from going travelling or parental leave.
Ben and Mandy tell us about Workingmums' Return To Work Week, which kicks off on Monday 25th September. Each day there will be advice on everything from returning to work, flexible working, changing careers and tech. To end the episode, Mandy talks through the findings of Workingmums' annual survey.
Stay tuned for another five episodes of season 2, Ben and Mandy will be back in two weeks with another guest. In the meantime, you can get in touch on www.workingdads.co.uk, www.workingmums.co.uk and www.workingwise.co.uk. See you then!
Produced & edited by Honey Wyatt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.