Intro: The strategic importance of employee benefits in the cost-of-living crisis
Employee financial wellbeing is firmly in the spotlight in the UK. Employees continue to feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, as rising prices and higher interest rates squeeze their finances.
According to the Office of National Statistics, around four in 10 adults are finding it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments, nearly half of adults said they were buying less food, and 46% of adults are using less fuel in their homes due to cost increases. Furthermore, many employees don’t have a buffer to help them navigate unexpected costs (earlier this year, the BBC reported that a quarter of adults have less than £100 in savings).
Unsurprisingly, the stress of dealing with this pressure is impacting every facet of employee wellbeing. The ties between financial wellbeing and physical and emotional wellbeing have been well documented, and financial concerns have also been shown to negatively impact employee productivity at work; CIPD research shows that over a quarter of employees say money worries affect their ability to do their job.
For benefit and reward directors who are looking for ways to support their people, the employee benefits toolkit presents a meaningful opportunity for organisations to offer support across a range of areas that relate to their finances.
Benefits programmes can help employees save money, make their pay go further and protect their financial future – from protection benefits that create a buffer against financial risk, to discounts, financial education and resources, value-add services from insurers, and beyond.
Over the last six months, we’ve been running a series of webinars, roundtables and content features that look at different ways to support employees through the cost-of-living crisis. And we've compiled some of our most popular resources so that you can see how to
better leverage your employee benefits offering to help employees face off to the cost-of-living crisis.
In this special edition newsletter, we explore findings from the millions of benefits selections that employees made through OneHub in the last year, as well as learnings from working with some of the world’s largest organisations, and innovations and insights from our partners.
Plus, find out what the 2023 Spring Budget means for pensions, simplify payroll with our 2023/2024 tax facts document, and download our cost-of-living crisis special report.
Read on to unlock the hidden value of employee benefits…
Gethin NadinChief Innovation Officer, Benefex
