Employers play a hugely important role in supporting the financial wellbeing of their employees.
Companies can provide invaluable support through education and by providing the right employee benefits.
Finances have always been a big concern for employees in the UK.
Based on their own research in 2019, Neyber estimated that over 20 million employees in the UK were affected by money worries. They also found that 45% of people run out of money between pay cheques.
Helping employees with their finances is now even more important than ever, so what can employers do?
Financial Education
Providing financial education will not only help staff through the current challenging financial times but it could also help employees prevent themselves getting into financial difficulty too.
Having comprehensive financial education available for employees to help with all manner of financial situations is key.
Ensure the information you offer is up-to-date and relevant. The economy and financial situations of many are changing rapidly in recent times and so it’s important to offer relevant and useful advice where possible.
Online, instantly accessible financial information can not only help staff in a timely and effective way, but it can be a crucial part of a financial wellbeing centre for your employees alongside other financial wellbeing benefits.
Employee Discounts
A wide range of discounts can help employees save and cut down their outgoings significantly.
Whether it’s reducing the cost of the weekly or monthly shop, helping with back to school costs or car or bicycle repairs, there are employee discounts available for just about anything.
The way you communicate your employee discounts is crucial too. They have the potential to save your staff hundreds, sometimes even thousands, across the course of a year.
Help save your staff time as well as money by letting them know which discounts are most relevant to them at this current time.
Workplace ISA’s
Workplace ISA’s can help provide a more financially secure future with even the smallest savings.
It is as important to think about the future as it is to think about the present when it comes to your finances.
This is where Workplace ISA’s come in and are a really smart move to help give some more financial security even by saving just a few pounds a month.
As Workplace ISA’s are a more secure way to invest and save as payments are made through salary deductions, you’ll often find better interest rates and return on investment than on the high street.
Salary sacrifice schemes
With savings to be made on Tax and National Insurance (NI), salary sacrifice offers a great way for staff to cut down their monthly outgoings.
Salary sacrifice schemes can help staff save on their commute or switch from high rate high street vehicle leasing to cheaper salary sacrifice leasing.
By switching to salary sacrifice for things such as motoring costs, not only will employees benefit from Tax and NI savings, but they’ll benefit from better rates too due to the security associated with salary sacrifice payments.
Consider mental wellbeing
There are many ways to help staff directly with managing their finances, but it is equally important to help them manage their mental wellbeing too.
Poor mental wellbeing directly contributes to a poorer financial situation. Equally, a poor financial situation can contribute to poor mental wellbeing.
Tackling one and not the other may not provide the full solution. This is where a benefit like the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) comes in.
While the EAP is there to help employees manage their mental wellbeing, it can also provide support for dealing with finances too.
When it comes to financial wellbeing, it is important to take a broader approach to ensure the long-term financial wellbeing of your employees.
A collective effort
Financial stability and security is one of the key pillars of a happy, motivated workforce. Now more than ever staff need support when it comes to managing their finances.
Thankfully, there’s lots you can do to provide employees with the tools, resources and education they need to improve and maintain a healthy financial position.
To find out more about how employee benefits can help, browse through our financial wellbeing employee benefits or get in touch to find out more.
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