Supporting financial wellbeing in the workplace: an employer toolkit from the Chamber and the Money and Pensions Service

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Blog post from Karleen Dowden, Money and Pensions Service

The case for financial wellbeing in the workplace

In a time when businesses are experiencing increased costs, as well as skills and labour shortages, many are considering how they can better support and retain staff without incurring additional costs. There is no question that employees are also feeling the bite of cost of living increases and for particular groups, including those on low incomes, meeting everyday living costs and credit commitments is becoming increasingly difficult.

Findings from MaPS’ recent adult financial wellbeing survey showed that within the North East, 30% of people couldn’t pay an unexpected bill of £300 from spare money or affordable borrowing, and 48% with bills and credit commitments are struggling to keep up with or are falling behind with their payments*. Worryingly 43% of those who are 18 years old and above in the region do not feel confident about managing their money; and at the same time 13% of people are borrowing to buy food and pay bills which is a real concern as frequent use of credit for everyday costs is linked to mental health problems*.

There is compelling evidence to support the case that employees with good financial wellbeing – which can be described as “knowing your can pay the bills today, can deal with the unexpected and are on track for a healthy financial future” – are less likely to be absent from work and more productive. According to MaPS survey of more than 10,000 UK adults, people with high financial wellbeing were more content with life than in households with incomes over £50,000 per year (61% versus 48%); proof that money alone doesn’t necessarily buy happiness*..

How can employers support financial wellbeing in the workplace without monetary investment?

The Chamber have recognised the need to support members in this area and – in partnership with the Money and Pensions Service – have developed a toolkit for employers to provide free and practical ways to develop their financial wellbeing offer. The toolkit provides both quick wins and longer-term strategic ways on how to support employees and aims to provide a starting point to help businesses on their journey of improving employee financial wellbeing.

One of the key things the toolkit aims to address is ensuring employees feel confident in managing their money and knowing what tools resources and services are available to help them do this.  Evidence suggests that nearly two thirds of people had not sought financial advice, guidance or talked to someone about their finances, with those on the lowest incomes being much less likely to discuss financial matters than those on higher incomes. Of those in financially vulnerable groups who had sought financial advice, between 25% and 40% stated that they had not received all the support they needed. The toolkit includes marketing and communication materials that employers can use to signpost employees to free money and debt advice services and also helpful tools such as a budget planner and bill prioritiser that can be used by employees to help them manage their money.

Many businesses are not currently in a position to increase wages or pay bonuses to help employees offset cost of living increases. However, is it unrealistic to assume that all businesses regardless of their size or sector are able to, as a minimum, raise awareness of the support available for employees to improve their financial wellbeing?  

The Chamber’s toolkit can be found here and free support on developing financial wellbeing in the workplace can be accessed through the Money and Pensions Service.

Image: Fizkes

Are You Squirrelling Away Too Much Cash?

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When inflation rises, cash needs careful management, says Greenarch Wealth Management. Read on to know whether you could benefit from investing.

 

A recent strategy paper published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated, “Many consumers who might gain from investing currently hold their savings in cash”.

Those words may sound as if they originated from a trade lobby for investment managers, but unusually, it’s the FCA that is concerned. Research carried out on its behalf revealed that more than a third of adults with £10,000+ of investible assets held all those assets in cash, while just over another sixth held above 75% in cash.

Make no mistake: we all need some readily available money – a rainy day reserve – to help us cope with the unexpected, be it a car repair or broken boiler. Ideally, such money should be in an instant access account, so that it is immediately available. At present these accounts pay minimal interest – the best (internet) deals are currently offering around 0.6%, while High Street names may pay as little as 0.01% (i.e. 10p a year interest on a £1,000 deposit).

When interest rates are below the rate of inflation (Consumer prices rose by 6.2% in February 2022), the longer you hold cash, the more buying power it loses. The effect may not be immediately obvious, especially when inflation is low. For example, over the last five years to September 2021, annual CPI inflation averaged just 2.1%. Viewed another way, £100 in September 2016 was worth £89.95 half a decade later. During that period the Bank of England base rate, which sets the benchmark for short-term interest rates, varied between 0.75% and 0.10%. At no point across those 60 months was the interest rate higher than the inflation rate.

Market expectations had predicted a gentle increase in interest rates given the many headwinds the UK economy is facing, although inflation is expected to continue to rise throughout 2022. If you want to preserve the long-term value of your money, whether it is personal capital or invested in a pension plan, now is the time to consider alternatives to deposits.

 

Investments do not offer the same level of capital security as a deposit account. The value of your investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investing in shares should be regarded as a long-term investment and should fit with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

 

To discuss the non-cash options that best suit your circumstances, contact Greenarch Wealth Management.

 

Photo by Fabian Blank and Önder Örtel on Unsplash

Expert help to source the right funding finance to grow your business

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Julie Skevington explains the types of funding and finance available for businesses; from what Banks can offer through to the many alternative finance services and new to market options on offer. Julie also gives an insight into the constantly changing world of grants and business support, and clarify what is currently available in the North East.

Driven by a desire to help businesses develop and grow, Julie’s commitment is to source the very best finance and funding for whatever your business needs.

Julie Skevington has over 25 years of experience in Banking, Commercial Finance and Business Support and gained valuable knowledge and expertise while working for HSBC for 15 years. She then moved on to become a Growth Manager on the Government backed Growth Accelerator programme before setting her own company up Sincero 5 years ago.

The simple truth about R&D tax credits

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The latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (2018/19) show that the North East has a lower number of claims for R&D tax relief than any other region in England.

During this informative webinar, Suhail Aslam from Teesside University and Nicola Bellerby from Clive Owen LLP share what they have learned during that last 10 years of working together, qualifying and submitting claims.

Through their skills partnership and combined experience, they have developed a unique insight into the process so are ideally placed to dispel many of the misconceptions around the scheme.

Speakers:

Suhail Aslam, Project Director at Teesside University gave an overview of what R&D is in detail and how to identify if your project qualifies.

He showed how to define project scope and value and what support is available to help with this process to write a powerful technical claim.

Nicola Bellerby, partner at Clive Owen LLP, Durham which is a regional firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, gave some insight into the criteria for claims and the way a claim is calculated.

Nicola dispelled some of the more common myths around R&D tax credits that she often hears such as, “I won’t qualify”, “we are too small”, or “we can’t claim because we aren’t profit making!”

She also covered off any pitfalls to avoid and general advice if you are considering an application.

Also other business owner’s speak on their real world experience with R&D tax credit and how it has benefited their business.