Meet Our Team

Paula Fisher

Managing Director LLB (hons), LLM

Paula Fisher founded Practical HR in May 2002. Prior to this Paula held senior HR management positions within corporate organisations and in 1997 completed a Law Degree (LLB Hons), graduating with a 1st class honours. She has also gained a master’s degree (LL.M) in Employment Law and Employee Relations and has lectured in employment law at Anglia Ruskin University on the CIPD course (Certified Institute of Personnel & Development). Paula has been working with SME’s for over 20 years. She brings a commercial approach to HR, recognising that HR is an integral part of running a business. Her view is that HR should ensure that an organisation has flexibility and protection and should help (not hinder) an organisation in helping them achieve their business objectives and move their business forward. Paula is also a published author and her book ‘HR for SME’s – a practical guide’, is a culmination of her many years working for SME’s; providing practical and commercial HR support.

Danielle Dear

HR Consultant

Danielle is an experienced and practical HR professional, with over 9 years HR experience. She has been in consultancy focusing on employee relations for the last 5 years supporting SMEs to navigate the ever changing employment law rollercoaster. Prior to working in consultancy she worked as internal HR in manufacturing and the public sector so she understands the importance of pragmatic HR solutions. Danielle has experience of the full HR life-cycle from recruitment and onboarding to exit strategies i.e. redundancies and conduct/gross misconduct dismissals. Her passion is problem solving with simple and clear solutions. She is also a trained mental health first-aider so understands the importance of wellbeing in the workplace.

Karen Wellings

HR Consultant

Karen is an experienced HR Consultant with over 18 years’ experience advising organisations across a range of sectors on HR and employee relations matters. CIPD qualified and legally trained, she specialises in providing clear, practical, and commercially focused advice throughout the employment lifecycle.

Karen has extensive experience managing complex employee relations cases including disciplinaries, grievances, redundancy, TUPE and performance management. She is known for her pragmatic approach, ability to build strong client relationships, and for delivering solutions that balance legal compliance with business needs. Outside of work, Karen enjoys walks with her dog and a busy family life.

Angela Dansey

People, Operations and Development Manager

Katherine Hitchman

HR Administrator

Katherine has over 14 years’ experience in customer experience and admin/support roles both in the public and private sector and predominantly within the Financial Services industry. Attributable to her background in providing dedicated support to her teams and management, Katherine understands the importance of putting our clients at the heart of everything we do. Katherine supports both the Practical HR team and its clients with their administrative requirements, ensures the daily smooth running of the office and is the first point of contact for callers and visitors.

Mark Rothman

Mark has over 20 years’ experience as a practising solicitor, helping businesses resolve complex and challenging disputes. He was previously a Partner and Head of Litigation and has been recognised on a number of occasions in the Legal 500’s annual list of recommended solicitors.

Mark continues to practise as a solicitor independently of Practical HR, and we are delighted that he also works with us as an Associate Legal Advisor. In this role, he supports clients with employment tribunal matters, including providing advice, guidance and representation support in any Employment Tribunal proceedings.

Gina Bartley

Senior Account Manager

Gina is involved in the building, updating and maintaining of the websites of our YourHR.space clients. She is immersing herself in the YourHR.space processes to ensure that her clients are provided with a site that is effective, accurate and easy to use. Prior to working at Practical HR Gina spent 11 years working in numerous roles within the Financial Services Industry, which gave her knowledge of HR issues and the need for building strong working relationships with clients.

Leila Tanner

Client Services Manager

Leila has a strong background in customer service and client relations, which has developed from working within the financial, healthcare and construction industries. She is passionate about providing a thorough and supportive service to our Clients, and works closely with our Consultants and Account Managers to help ensure our Clients receive the best possible support from the services we provide.

Lisa Leech

Client Services Coordinator

Lisa is a people focused professional with a background in customer service, team leadership, coaching, and development. Lisa has built her career around supporting others—whether that’s delivering great customer experiences, guiding team members to reach their potential, or creating a positive and productive working environment.

With hands-on experience leading teams, Lisa is confident in motivating individuals, improving performance, and fostering collaboration. Lisa takes a practical, supportive approach to coaching, helping people build confidence, develop skills, and achieve meaningful results.

Lisa is passionate about continuous improvement and enjoys finding ways to strengthen both team performance and client satisfaction.

Peter Fisher

IT & Facilities Management

Peter Fisher has been supporting businesses with their IT for over 30 years and has worked across many industries and with corporate and public sector organisations, as well as SME’s. He makes our IT easy and ensures that the IT for Practical HR allows us to utilise technology while being appropriate for the size of our organisation. He also manages our facilities to ensure our offices and workspace are professional, functional and comfortable.