Financial Wellbeing – what can businesses do to support employees?

With the cost of living crisis looming over us all, it seems an apt time to talk about financial wellbeing and what businesses can be doing to support their employees in these trying times.

Financial wellbeing may not seem to fit with the traditional idea of wellbeing in the workplace, where we typically think of things like cycle schemes, fresh fruit and mental health training. However, statistics show that stress and anxiety are the second largest reason for sickness absence in the UK, and we all know the stress that financial insecurity can bring.

All employers have a responsibility to support their workforce’s financial wellbeing. There is a clear moral component here, in that people deserve to be paid fairly. There is also a business case for supporting staff’s financial needs, in that businesses that look after their staff financially enjoy a better reputation, better staff retention and increased staff motivation. Even smaller businesses or those with limited budgets can still offer support to employees.

So, how can businesses help?

1. Pay your workers fairly and ensure that those in lower-paid roles earn enough to live on, ideally by paying the Real Living Wage as a minimum.
2. Check that pay is fair across the organisation by looking at pay gaps and gender or ethnicity differences.
3. Where possible, support your workers to progress into higher-paid roles.
4. Provide your employees with information about free, confidential advice, such as that available from the Money and Pensions Service.
5. Inform your workforce of any benefits, discounts or schemes available to them and offer support in enrolment.
6. Work with line managers to normalise conversations around money worries and aim to reduce any stigma felt by employees.