The cost-of-living crisis struck the UK in April, when rising prices, inflation, national insurance contributions, energy and electricity costs all increased significantly. As a result of the soaring energy bills in the UK, homeowners have been forced to cope with the financial strains this has caused.
Having put extreme pressure on many UK businesses and employees alike, employees’ finances have been so squeezed because of the financial crisis. Employees now have to deal with increasing costs of food, petrol, energy and public transport, which have all reached their highest price in over a decade.
That said, the question remains: how can businesses help employees cope with the crisis? Here are a few suggestions of ways that companies can do so.
Allow employees to gain insight into their finances
Though you cannot prevent rising costs and inflation, you could assist employees in identifying areas where they may be able to make small and simple changes to their spending and saving habits. In doing so, this might help to reduce the effect of the financial increases of the cost of living crisis.
You can simply offer financial advice over a zoom call or through a face to face meeting, perhaps making it less formal by having it at lunchtime, or with all other employees involved. Use these sessions to give employees useful insight into their finances, and the financial benefits you offer, such as employee life insurance and bonuses.
Permit flexible and home working
Giving employees the option to work from home, or even work non-standard hours, won’t just potentially improve their work and life balance, it could also save them a decent sum of money. This is because to get to work they must pay for fuel or public transport, potentially buy food at work, and even fork out for childcare.
Employees will save a great sum of money each month if they don’t have to commute – the cost of fuel and public transport is going up after all. Research has shown that employees who work remotely can save on average £44.78 a week by cutting costs on commuting and not needing to buy lunch during their break.
Help with commuting costs
You could offer to cover commuting costs in some ways such as offering discounted bus tickets as employee rewards, or you could even encourage cycling via the cycle to work scheme. Employees who live near enough to cycle to the workplace instead of driving can save money on fuel, avoiding increasing fuel costs.
Develop an employee discount scheme
Creating or investing in an employee discount scheme will allow you to provide discounts on a range of goods and essentials from certain brands or retailers. There are easily accessible platforms that specialise in giving employee discounts via applications and devices, thanks to digital technology. Employees will be able to save money by having to pay less for certain goods and essentials included in the discount scheme.
Employee benefits
It’s a good idea to inform your employees about the employee benefits available at your company. Some advantages may include money-saving discount vouchers, as well as travel discounts or loans to assist with commuting costs.
And there you have it – just a few simple ways that businesses can assist their employees during the cost-of-living crisis.
