Separation is one of the hardest things your people will carry. They should not have to carry it alone.
FairWell is a private separation support benefit for employees in Canada and the United States. Calm, structured guidance, planning sessions with a FairWell guide and an organised summary of terms for both partners to take to their own lawyers. Your employees stay anonymous. You see aggregate numbers only.
This is everything an employer sees. Any number under 10 is never shown.
People bring their separation to work. They do not have a choice.
A separation is a legal process, a financial reset and a loss, often all at once, and usually while someone is still doing their job and caring for children. The research is clear that it shows up at work.
of employees going through a divorce said it had hurt their job, work or career in the previous few months, across two studies of workers in the US and Canada.
Employees in the middle of a divorce reported more negative mood at work, lower self-rated job performance and poorer health than colleagues who were not divorcing. Reduced focus and rumination came up in 45% of their comments about the harm.
of employees in the US and Canada reported significant daily stress in 2025, the highest rate of any region in the world.
lost by Canadian business in one year (2011) to mental health problems and illnesses through absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover.
Employees who feel cared for by their employer are 60% more likely to plan to stay another 12 months. Support at key life moments matters: 76% of employees who got it felt cared for, compared with 45% of those who did not.
median yearly return for every dollar Canadian companies invested in workplace mental health programs, rising to CA$2.18 for programs in place three years or more.
Divorce counts are only part of the picture. They leave out common-law couples, who made up 21% of couples in Canada in 2016 [5], and every separation that has not reached a court. The stress also outlasts the paperwork: a review of 32 studies covering more than 6.5 million people found a significantly higher risk of early death among separated and divorced adults [3], and a US national study linked marital problems to work loss among men [2].
Separation is not only a loss. In the same University of Minnesota research, many people said the change eventually gave them energy back for work, and work outcomes improved once the divorce was complete. What distinguished people who struggled more was how much grief they were carrying and how uncertain they felt about money after the divorce [1]. Those are things the right support can help with.
Most employee assistance programs offer a few counselling sessions. That helps with the emotional side. It does not help someone understand what a separation agreement should cover, what financial disclosure they owe, or how to build a parenting plan the other parent will sign. Those are the questions that keep people up at night and pull them out of meetings.
FairWell fills that gap: a clear plan, a person to talk it through with, and an organised summary of terms both partners can take to a lawyer, for a flat fee.
A note on the numbers: these studies describe separation, stress and workplace support in general. They are not results of FairWell. We will measure our own results with you, in aggregate, and report them plainly.
A calm place to start, and real help to finish.
Employees enter your company code at fairwell.ai/work and see exactly what you cover. They use FairWell like any other customer, with their own personal email. Shown here is the Support package.
Prep Pack
A personal separation roadmap, a financial snapshot and a disclosure organizer. The right first step before a lawyer, a mediator or a hard conversation.
Three planning sessions
Private one-to-one video sessions with a FairWell guide to understand the options, plan next steps and stay steady when things get complicated. Coaching, not legal advice.
An agreement, for both partners
The Complete Package, the Separation Agreement or the Parenting Plan. Each partner answers privately through their own secure link. One organised summary of their terms, ready for each of them to take to a lawyer, who prepares the agreement.
One next step
Mediation Prep, preparation for independent legal advice, or a Second Opinion on a parenting plan or budget.
Everything else at FairWell
Extra sessions, prenups and cohabitation agreements, at a discount for as long as your plan is active.
Guides, calculators and crisis support
Plain-English guides for every province and state, support calculators and checklists, plus crisis lines and a one-click quick exit on every page.
FairWell is not a law firm and does not give legal advice or draft legal documents. It organises each employee's information into a plain-language summary; a lawyer in the employee's province or state prepares any agreement and advises them. Lawyer fees are paid by the employee directly to the lawyer they choose; FairWell takes no referral fees from lawyers.
People only use a benefit they trust. So we built it so you cannot see who uses it.
No one going through a separation wants their employer watching. Anonymity is not a setting in FairWell. It is how the program is built, and it is written into our agreement with you.
What you see
Quarterly, in aggregate. Any count under 10 is shown as "fewer than 10".
- How many covered products were used, in total
- How many discounted purchases were made
- Attendance at manager sessions and webinars
- An average helpfulness rating, once 10 or more people reply
- Cases used against the cases in your plan
What you never see
Not in reports, not on request, not ever.
- Names, emails or any way to identify someone
- Whether a particular person used the benefit
- What anyone bought, or when
- Documents, answers, session notes or partner details
- Dates, locations or demographics that could narrow it down
From first call to launch in under two weeks.
No integration, no employee list, no IT project. You send one email and post one page.
A 20-minute call
We learn about your team, your current benefits and where your people are. You see the employee experience live.
Week 0Proposal and privacy pack
A one-page order form with your price, plus our answers to the usual security and privacy questions.
Usually within about 2 business daysAgreement and invoice
A short agreement and data protection addendum. Annual invoice by Stripe, net 30, with your PO number. Card checkout for small teams.
When you are readyYour private page and code
We set up your company code, your covered services and your private checkout codes, and test every one.
Days 1 to 3Your launch kit
Announcement email, intranet copy, manager talking points, a poster and an HR FAQ, ready to send with your name on them.
Days 2 to 5Launch and review
A manager briefing, then a quarterly aggregate report and an annual review to size next year on real use.
Day 5 to 10, then quarterly
One flat annual fee. No per-person billing.
Priced by the number of employees eligible for the benefit, so it is easy to budget and nobody has to approve an individual's use. Prices are per year.
Essentials
Guidance and a head start for anyone who needs it.
- Prep Pack, covered in full
- One planning session, covered in full
- 25% off every other FairWell product
- Private company page and access code
- Launch kit and recorded manager briefing
- Aggregate report
Support
The full separation toolkit, covered, for both partners.
- Everything in Essentials
- For each covered case: Prep Pack, three planning sessions, one agreement for both partners and one next step, all covered in full
- Extra cases at a fixed $1,100 each, billed as a total
- One live manager session and one live employee webinar a year
- Quarterly aggregate report and annual review
Enterprise
For large, multi-site or cross-border organizations.
- Everything in Support, with more covered cases
- Separate codes for large divisions
- Quarterly live sessions for managers and employees
- French launch materials for Quebec teams
- Custom reporting schedule and a named contact
A covered case is one employee household using the covered agreement path in a plan year. The separating partner is included at no extra cost. Unused cases do not carry over; at renewal we size your plan on real use. Minimum 10 eligible employees. Taxes extra where they apply.
Try Support for six months at half the price.
For employers with 250 or more eligible employees. Half the annual Support price for your size, half the covered cases, and the full launch. If you continue within 30 days of the pilot ending, every dollar counts toward your first year.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from our employee assistance program?
Your EAP is there for the emotional side, usually through a few counselling sessions. FairWell covers the practical side that an EAP is not built for: understanding the process, organizing finances and disclosure, and producing a separation agreement and parenting plan both partners can take to a lawyer. The two work well together, and the FairWell page points people to their EAP for counselling.
Will we ever know who used it?
No. Employees enter a company code and buy with their own personal email. We never share names, emails, purchases, dates or anything that could identify someone, and any number under 10 is left out of reports. This is written into our agreement with you, and we will decline any request for individual information unless the law compels it.
We are a small team. Can people still stay anonymous?
Our reporting rules protect people, but in a very small team word of mouth is the bigger risk. That is why the minimum is 10 eligible employees, reports for teams under 50 are annual, and most numbers will show as "fewer than 10". We will tell you plainly what anonymity can and cannot protect for a team your size.
Are spouses and partners covered?
Yes, for the separation itself. Covered agreements are the "both partners" version, so the other partner joins through their own private link at no cost and is never reported. Other family members are not covered by default; Enterprise plans can extend the discount to immediate family.
Is FairWell giving legal advice?
No. FairWell is not a law firm and does not give legal advice or draft legal documents. It provides general legal information, coaching and organised summaries; a lawyer in the employee's province or state prepares any agreement and advises them, and we build that step into the process.
Does it work in every province and state?
FairWell serves employees across Canada and the United States, with guides for every province, territory and state. Documents are built for the employee's jurisdiction and link to the relevant law. If you have employees in Quebec, tell us on the call so we can prepare French launch materials.
What if our code is shared outside the company?
Every covered code has a cap and an expiry date, so a shared code cannot cost you more than your plan allows. We rotate checkout codes every quarter and can change your company code at any time.
Is this a taxable benefit, or an ERISA plan?
That depends on your organization and how the benefit is set up, so please confirm with your own accountant and, for US employers, your benefits counsel. We are glad to share how the program works in detail so they can advise you.
Where is employee data stored?
Payments are processed by Stripe, and FairWell never sees card numbers. FairWell runs on established cloud providers, some of which store data in the United States. Our privacy pack lists every service provider and where it operates, so your privacy team can review it before you sign.
What happens if we stop?
Plans run for a year. If you do not renew, your codes stop working at the end of the term. Anyone who already started a covered product keeps full access to what they began.
Let's talk about your people.
A 20-minute call with FairWell founder Grant le Riche. No pressure and no obligation, just an honest conversation about whether this fits your team.
Book a 20-minute call
Tell us a little about your organization and when suits you. We usually reply within about one business day.
Get the program overview
A one-page PDF with the research, how anonymity works, packages and pricing. Easy to share with your leadership team.
Download the overview (PDF)Prefer email? Write to hello@fairwell.ai.
Sources
- Wanberg, C. R., Csillag, B. and Duffy, M. K. (2023). After the break-up: How divorcing affects individuals at work. Personnel Psychology, 76(1), 77 to 112. doi.org/10.1111/peps.12547. Study 1: 121 divorcing US workers (43.8%). Study 2: 270 divorcing full-time workers in the US and Canada (57.1%). The same studies found 38.8% and 24.0% reported a positive effect on work.
- Forthofer, M. S., Markman, H. J., Cox, M. et al. (1996). Associations between marital distress and work loss in a national sample. Journal of Marriage and the Family. Harvard Medical School record.
- Sbarra, D. A., Law, R. W. and Portley, R. M. (2011). Divorce and death: A meta-analysis and research agenda for clinical, social, and health psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(5), 454 to 474. doi.org/10.1177/1745691611414724.
- Statistics Canada (2022, March 9). The Daily: divorces granted in 2020. statcan.gc.ca.
- Department of Justice Canada (2026, June). JustFacts: Marriage and divorce trends in Canada, 1921 to 2020. justice.gc.ca.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. FastStats: Marriage and Divorce (2023 provisional data). cdc.gov.
- Mental Health Commission of Canada (2013). Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada. mentalhealthcommission.ca.
- Gallup (2026). State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report, regional data, United States and Canada (data collected January to December 2025). gallup.com.
- MetLife (2024, March 18). 22nd Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, survey of 2,809 US employees fielded November 2023. metlife.com.
- Deloitte Canada (2019). The ROI in workplace mental health programs: Good for people, good for business. deloitte.com.
Figures were checked against each original source in October 2026. Studies of mental health programs and employee benefits in general are not evidence of FairWell's own results.