Your staff come into work and they get paid. What could be simpler? Obviously, there is more to it than this. Employers have a duty of care towards their employees. Employees are a valuable asset, so it is in the employer’s interest to make sure their employees are properly treated.
However, the Open University Business School and Share Radio have commissioned research that reveals two-thirds of employees have no personal financial education to draw on.
“Financial instability can be a major cause of stress in the workplace,” Roger Davies of Genistar states.
“The Money Advice Service reveals that 44% of the population had less than £100 in savings in 2016,” continues Roger. “Meanwhile, figures from an Aviva Family Finance Report had credit card debt for an average household at £13,500.”
“Stress leads to absent staff, lost productivity and damaged morale. Therefore, should managers provide financial education for their staff to try and prevent stress by tackling financial issues as a root cause?”
Who Should Offer Advice?
“It makes sense for HR departments and professionals to offer financial advice to educate workforces. Whether this is done directly, or through other, outsourced specialised channels, depends on the level of expertise required,” Roger explains.
There is a boundary between work and home life, and there are issues of employee privacy, but stress crosses this boundary and impacts on people’s private and public lives.
“Financial education is a means of making sure employees are better prepared to deal with the day to day pressures of managing the money they earn, and are given a clear idea of how to plan for the future”
Pension Schemes
“Auto-enrolment in pensions is happening and by 2018 all employers will have to offer employees entry to a pension scheme,” Roger observes. “While pension planning advice is a skilled area best left to professionals, HR can still offer general advice or point employees in the right direction for more detailed information.”
“Employees approaching retirement age in particular may need guidance,” concludes Roger. “While not everyone is struggling with finances, it makes sense to have an inclusive approach and an established strategy for providing financial education in the workplace.”
To discover how financial education can benefit your people and your business, please call Genistar on 020 3372 5085 or visit genistar.co.uk.
