Supporting the Whole Family

To Truly Support the Employee, We Must Support the Whole Family

Karl Bennett
Founder of The Wellbeing Consortium, Wellbeing Director & EAPA UK Chair 

There’s a longstanding gap in the world of EAP’s, one we’ve known about for a while, but struggled to address. It’s the question of how, or whether, we support employees beyond the individual. More specifically, their families.

The traditional model of an EAP’s is built around on very clear principle; support the employee, so they can remain productive and well at work. It’s a simple premise, but it’s also one that’s been held back by two key constraints.

Firstly, tax rules. In the UK, only counselling provided directly to the employee is exempt from tax, which disincentivises extending access to family members. Secondly, the scope of the service itself. EAP counsellors are generally trained to work with adults, not children. After all, it’s called an Employee Assistance Programme, not a ‘Family’ Support Service.

But after nearly three decades in the wellbeing space, I can tell you this with confidence. More and more employees are being impacted by what’s happening at home. And the root cause isn’t always their own mental health, it’s their children’s.

Children’s mental health struggles often mean disruptive schooling, sudden absences, increased caring demands, and a knock-on effect on the working lives of their parents. The results? A gap in workplace support. One that traditional EAP’s, however well meaning, are rarely equipped to fill.

This is why I was so encouraged and impressed when I was introduced to Subconquest. Founded by Ali and Caroline, their approach tackles this gap head on. They’re not trying to retrofit a conventional EAP into something it was never designed to be. Instead, they are delivering family-centred support in a way that feels intelligent, compassionate, and deeply relevant to what employees actually need right now.

The origins of their work are powerful. Ali, while working with children in a school, was approached by a parent desperate for help with their ‘angry’ child. That encounter led to the creation of the ‘Ollie’ model, a therapeutic framework designed to help children better understand and manage their emotions. But it doesn’t stop there. What makes this approach stand out is how it empowers the whole family. Parents/guardians gain tools, insight and confidence, not just to support their child, but to feel more in control of their lives and more able to thrive at work.

I had a bit of a ‘eureka’ moment when I saw it in action. If you want to support the employee, you can’t do it in isolation. You need to support the full system around them. Their child, the partner, their family!

So, I put it to the test. I recommended a friend, who was considering leaving work altogether to care for their child, to speak with Ali and her team. The outcome? Both parents are now not only back at work, but feeling more hopeful, less stressed and most importantly, part of a thriving family dynamic once again.

That’s why I’ve personally backed Subconquest. I’ve introduced them to my contacts, and I’m delighted to say that several EAP providers are now preparing to offer the Ollie service as part of their service to employers.

Let me be clear, I’m not one to use the phrase ‘game changer’ lightly. I think it’s a wildly overused term. But this! This is something the industry truly needs. And while it might not rewrite the entire rulebook, it does offer a practical, powerful solution to a real world problem. One that far too many employees are struggling with in silence, and one that employers will soon start to see the effects of.

If you’d like to know more, I’d be more than happy to introduce you to the team. Because if we are serious about improving the wellbeing of our employees, and not just ticking boxes, then this is exactly the kind of work we need to get behind.