This year’s cost of living crisis has been one of the most damaging that the UK has seen in over fifty years. With record numbers of households facing significant declines in income, something has to be done. Here are a few ways that your business can help to provide extra financial support to workers during this crisis.
Pay – living wage and salary increases
Research currently shows that 38% of low paid workers are falling behind on their household bills. Despite the national minimum wage recently increasing in the UK, the real living wage is a different story. Because the real living wage is voluntary many businesses aren’t aware of how it can help their employees. You can help your workers to meet their living needs by increasing their pay to the real living wage.
An alternative to the real living wage scheme would be increasing your workers’ salary as inflation increases.
Financial wellbeing assistance
Even more so than usual, money is causing a great deal of stress for employees right now. Employees that are well educated and have a good idea of how to manage their money are significantly likely to suffer less than those who aren’t as clued up on how to make their money last.
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Actively educating your employees about their financial wellbeing is a great place to start when it comes to assisting your workers during the cost-of-living crisis. Make it your mission to locate useful sources of financial information for your employees and do your best to ensure that your workers are paid enough to realistically live on.
Improve access to pension schemes
A surprising number of young workers want access to pension schemes to be more accessible and easier to contribute to. Despite the current financial difficulties, many workers recognise the importance of continuing to contribute to their pension and foresee the long-term financial impacts that pulling out of company pension schemes can have. Short-term breaks in paying pensions can quickly become long-term, so we’d recommend that employees are able to access guidance regarding what to do about their pension plans.
Rent a serviced office
Serviced offices are a great alternative to traditional office spaces when it comes to saving money. With zero maintenance costs and an abundance of free Wi-Fi and utilities, it makes sense for smaller businesses to rent serviced offices in Belfast, for example, instead of forking out for expensive office spaces that go unused.
In terms of how this helps employees, it can give them a place to get work done (thinking specifically remote and hybrid workers) away from home that doesn’t add to their financial issues. They have access to a warm, dry place where they don’t have to worry about how much energy they’re using and can focus solely on their work. Even for those employees who don’t work remotely, a serviced office will benefit them because the business owners will be saving money which can in turn go towards increasing employee pay or benefits.
As you can see, providing financial support to employees is more important now than ever before. Though wage increases might not be a feasible option straight away, there are several fruitful ways you can cut costs, without compromising on quality, in order to do so in the future.
