When one in four employees say money worries affects their work, financial wellbeing must be a priority in the workplace.
As cost of living rises, staff are wanting more support. And that’s why having a financial wellbeing policy is necessary to reassure your workforce that you can provide that support.
Research suggests there are strong links between financial wellbeing, employee wellbeing and performance. That’s why having a policy can do more than calm financial fears…
What is a financial wellbeing policy?
A financial wellbeing policy can help staff manage debt and financial problems by outlining the support you offer. This support may be financial, like offering bonuses or travel loans.
It could also be emotional support through an employee assistance programme. This can help staff learn how to manage their finances better and work through their issues with an expert.
A policy helps open up discussions about financial wellbeing in the workplace, so you can learn how to help your staff when they really need it.
To make sure your policy is watertight, here are five important things to include…
1. Detail the financial support you offer
If your company offers financial support to staff in any way, you should outline this in your policy.
Examples of financial support might be:
- private health insurance
- travel ticket loans
- private confidential counselling
- free breakfasts/lunches/snacks
- remote working allowances
- commissions or bonus schemes
And if you don’t currently offer rewards, consider setting some up. Offering rewards to staff is not only an incentive to stay engaged with the work but can also help them save money (or earn that extra bit more).
2. Signpost staff to helpful organisations and resources
You could also signpost staff to resources or organisations that help people better manage their finances.
Some examples you could include could be:
- Money Helper – provides help and advice about money, pensions, and debt under the Government’s money & pensions service.
- StepChange – provides financial wellbeing resources, workshops, and more.
3. Outline your flexible working rules
If you don’t currently offer flexible working, you might want to consider it. Flexible working is a great way to help staff save on travel costs.
It may involve allowing staff to:
- Work from home (either full-time or part-time to save on travelling into work).
- Work longer hours (to earn more money to meet their financial needs).
Remote working might also save employees money on childcare or pet care.
Make sure to tell staff how to request flexible working. You’ll need to explain how they should manage themselves if they work flexibly and what you will do to support them if they’re working from home.
4. Promote your employee assistance programme (EAP)
If you have an employee assistance programme (EAP), you should outline how staff can access it and what it includes. An EAP provides free third-party counselling and wellbeing resources to staff. This is to help them overcome any personal or work-related challenges.
EAP experts can advise staff on how to best manage their finances, mortgages, debt and more. They’re also a friendly impartial person to talk about their money worries. This might work better for staff who feel uncomfortable speaking to employers and managers.
5. Outline the financial support you offer for life milestones
Big life milestones may mean staff need to take leave from work, either temporarily or permanently. This might be when they have a baby or when they retire.
You might offer financial support above and beyond statutory entitlement. If so, outline how you’ll support staff while they’re on maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, or any form of statutory leave.
You’ll also need to outline how your pension scheme will work.
Calm money worries with a watertight policy
Now you know what to include in your financial wellbeing policy, it’s time to set one up.
Crafting up a policy is time-consuming and risky. The wording you use is very important and it might be the difference between success and a costly tribunal case…
That’s why over 44,000 businesses save time and stress by leaving their documentation to the HR experts.
Peninsula will set you up with a custom-made policy that ticks all the legal boxes, and you can use it straight away in your workplace.
To get yours, call 0800 028 2420 today.
