Paying it forward — how Clare and Annabelle are accelerating jobsharing in the South West

In our latest episode of Jobshare Stories, Laura spoke to Clare Freshwater-Turner and Annabelle Richards from Lloyds Banking Group Banking Group, where they jobshare in Group Corporate Treasury. With over ten years of jobsharing behind them — spanning finance, coaching, sustainability, and now treasury — their story is one of the most varied and inspiring we've heard. And as if that weren't enough, they're now on a mission to spread the jobshare message across the South West of England.

Clare Freshwater-Turner and Annabelle Richards - jobshare partners in Finance at Lloyds Banking Group.

How it all began — a chance connection

‍Clare and Annabelle first came together on a secondment in Lloyds Banking Group' Finance Community team, where they were working on coaching and leadership development — quite a departure from their usual finance roles. Both were working reduced hours and both were keen to drop them further. When permanent roles came up, someone made a simple but inspired suggestion: why not apply together as a jobshare?

That suggestion changed everything.

From that first shared role, they quickly discovered something that has defined their partnership ever since — they bring genuinely different strengths to the table and together they're more than the sum of their parts.

‍‍A unique career, supercharged by jobsharing

What's striking about Clare and Annabelle's jobshare journey is how far it has taken them beyond the expected path. After their initial Finance Community role, they moved into a more traditional finance position managing a team — where one of the first things they did was recruit a new jobshare pair into a vacancy, actively demonstrating that you can both lead and manage as a jobshare.

From there, they spotted an opportunity with a newly appointed sustainability director and — in a move that says everything about their confidence and approach — Clare reached out before the director had even started, introducing themselves before the EA role was even formally open. They got it.

That led them into the world of sustainable business and the nature team, exploring what banks can and should do in response to biodiversity loss. Then, true to form, they decided it was time to throw themselves back into finance — this time in Group Corporate Treasury, an area neither had worked in before.

‍ ‍"Every time people ask why we're doing something new, we say: because we want to learn and we can. And that's just so great to be able to do."

The confidence to take risks, step into the unknown and keep growing — that, they both agree, is one of the greatest gifts jobsharing has given them.

‍Why they started — and why they've stayed

‍The original motivation for working part time was different for each of them, but the outcome has been the same.

For Annabelle, the frustration of working alone part time was that work sat still when she wasn't there. Projects stalled. Momentum was lost. Jobsharing removed that barrier completely.

‍For Clare, it was about having a career at all. Working three days a week, she'd found herself effectively doing five days' work for three days' pay — and feeling that progression was out of reach. Jobsharing changed that. She's now continued to work part time not because of family pressures, but because she has so many things she wants to do outside of work too.

‍ ‍"You can never have everything — but you can have a lot more if you're in a jobshare."

‍The South West Jobshare Network — paying it forward

‍As passionate as they are about their own jobshare, Clare and Annabelle's ambition extends well beyond Lloyds Banking Group. Together with Louise and Sarah — a jobshare pair from BT in the South West — they've founded the South West Jobshare Network: a community designed to connect jobsharers, support those thinking about it, and challenge the sceptics who still say "it wouldn't work in our organisation."

Make it stand out

The South West Jobshare Network event in spring 2026

‍Their approach is deliberately regional and personal. They want to meet other jobsharers face to face, bring local businesses together and create space for real conversations about what works, what doesn't, and what the barriers are. And they're not just preaching to the converted — one of the panellists at their first event had managed five different jobshares. Exactly the kind of voice that turns sceptics into advocates.

‍ "Jobsharing is like the secret you wish everyone knew."

‍Their target audience isn't just people who want to jobshare — it's the recruiters and managers who still reflexively think it wouldn't work in their context. Because as Clare and Annabelle know from ten years of experience, it almost certainly can.

Clare & Annabelle with the South West Jobshare Network event panel in spring 2026 - smashing perceptions and raising awareness

‍ The benefits — for individuals and organisations

When it comes to what jobsharing has given them, Clare and Annabelle don't hold back.

‍For Annabelle, one of the most underrated benefits is energy. Working her three days with full commitment and full focus, she's able to bring something to work that a five-day week can quietly erode. There's no mid-week slump, no Friday afternoon fatigue — just three days of being fully on, followed by a handover that sets her partner up to do the same.

And when life gets hard — as it does for everyone at some point — having a jobshare partner means the work doesn't fall apart. One of you can quietly carry a little more for a while, knowing the other will do the same when it's needed. It's a built-in safety net that benefits the individual and the organisation alike.

‍ From Lloyds Banking Group's perspective, the benefits are just as clear. When Clare needed time off for an operation, Annabelle covered the role — no recruitment, no handover to someone new, no loss of continuity. Their complementary skills mean the role gets more than one person could offer alone. And because they support each other, they tend to require less management time than two individuals would — while simultaneously offering their managers more.

‍The challenges — and how to navigate them

Clare and Annabelle are honest that jobsharing isn't without its challenges. Misunderstandings can arise — particularly around things like holiday cover, where people sometimes assume one partner will simply absorb the other's responsibilities. Managing expectations early and clearly matters.

‍They've also, at times, encountered situations where people have tried to play one against the other — saying one partner agreed to something they hadn't. Their response? A united front, always. They might ask each other privately why a particular decision was made, but they would never undermine each other outwardly.

‍ The antidote to all of this, they say, is trust — and communication. Their Thursday morning catch-up (yes, technically outside their working hours) is, as Annabelle puts it, one of the best half-hours they invest all week. Getting it right has taken time and trial and error, but the foundation it creates is worth every minute.

‍ "We base everything on trust. If you've got really good trust between you and you support each other — particularly if someone else makes a decision you might not have made — you always back it up."

‍They're also clear on the importance of shared objectives. If you're being assessed separately, you risk introducing competition into a relationship that should be about collaboration. Shared goals, shared accountability — that's the only model that truly works.

‍What they'd want everyone to know

‍With over a decade of experience between them, Annabelle and Clare are well placed to offer insight on what they’d people who don't know much about jobsharing to understand.

For Annabelle – she’d want everyone to know that jobsharing is more than just sharing a role. You learn from each other. You grow. You see the world differently because of the person sitting alongside you in the work. Done well, it becomes something that shapes who you are professionally — and personally.

‍Clare agreed with this and supplemented it with the insight we often talk about at The Jobshare Revolution - jobsharing works in far more roles than most people think. The single biggest barrier to jobsharing isn't logistics or practicality — it's the assumption that it couldn't possibly work here, in this role, at this level. That assumption is almost always incorrect - jobsharing works everywhere!”

‍Clare and Annabelle are true jobshare advocates and they are having a huge impact on jobsharing in the South West. If you want to find out more, connect with them on LinkedIn and join their network.

‍Want to hear more?

‍To hear Clare and Annabelle's full story — including the story of how they approached a sustainability director before she'd even started, their tips for navigating the challenges of jobsharing, and their ambitions for the South West Jobshare Network — search for Jobshare Stories wherever you get your podcasts.

‍To find out more about the South West Jobshare Network, find them on LinkedIn.

To find out more about how jobsharing could transform your organisation, get in touch at hello@TheJobshareRevolution.co.uk

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