Cost of Living Crisis
The cost-of-living crisis and its effect on everyone in the UK is a big topic in the media. We thought it would be helpful to share some of our thoughts on the subject.
As the everyday costs of living is rising, it is no surprise that this could have a significant effect on wellbeing, productivity and anxiety levels. With this in mind it raises the questions, “How are your employees feeling?” and “What can you do as their employer to support them?”. The overall aim is to keep both the employees and business owners motivated, afloat and feeling secure during this time of flux.
We have a Salary Benchmarking service that can be useful to show your employees how their salaries are competitive in the market. It is important that any support scheme is clear and communicated to your workforce consistently.
Having the evidence to hand that you are paying a fair wage for the work in your area may help with any discussions about wages.
From the business perspective the challenges are also affecting operating costs. This could be due to the increase prices of fuel, gas and electricity, just to name a few. During times of hardship, businesses are also experiencing delays in receiving payments from their customers and increasing overheads. Despite financial help being a choice of support, this may not always be feasible for organisations.
There are other ways you could support your employees to help ease the worry.
Here are a few examples that different organisations have explored:
– As alternative to bringing in new staff, if it is feasible and within working regulations, offering overtime to existing employees.
– Being prompt with expenses payments.
– Cycle to work scheme.
– Being flexible with shifts to accommodate car sharing.
– Money advice services.
– Accommodation support.
– Wellbeing and mental health support.
– Support to give up smoking.
– Providing some food/refreshments in the workplace to ease the burden at home.
– Bring in more office working to reduce costs for employees or more flexible working to reduce costs of travel.
If you would like us to support you in implementing a cost-of-living crisis plan or with salary benchmarking, please get in touch. Please bear in mind that these could have tax implications on the company and/or the employees involved, so it is important that these options are thought about carefully before implementing them.
Nicky Griffiths-Lumb
– HR Consultant for Sue Willmott HR & Careers Consultancy.
I am an Associate Member of the CIPD and hold a Level 5 CIPD, Human Resources Management and Services Qualification. We are Matrix Accredited and a member of the Careers Development Institute.
You can contact me here:
