Employers urged to offer financial support to staff

02nd August 2012

Businesses should provide employees with more guidance on money management to help prevent them becoming distracted by financial concerns, the CIPD has suggested.

The statement follows research from the CIPD’s Summer 2012 Employee Outlook survey, which collected data from 2,000 employees.

The survey showed that whilst 59% of employees are experiencing financial struggles, 73% have received no form of financial support or advice from their employer.

53% of employees revealed they are concerned about their financial plans for retirement, and 59% reported they would be able to survive for less than six months if they were to lose their main source of income.

In response, the CIPD has launched a new guide on financial education in the workplace. The guide calls on employers to offer financial education at work to reduce the risk of stress and anxiety-related underperformance associated with employee debt.

Charles Cotton, Reward Adviser at CIPD, commented:

"Employers may think that the financial savvyness of their employees is not their responsibility. But the impact of not providing financial education can mean a workforce pre-occupied or overwhelmed by their own financial worries, and unable to appreciate the value of their organisation’s pay, benefits and pensions package."

Mr Cotton went on to say that financial education could help to boost motivation and staff retention, and also create a workforce that better understands the business pressures faced by their employer.

The CIPD’s Workplace financial education guide is available for download via the following location: http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/policy-reports/workplace-financial-education.aspx.