BOSSES URGED TO HELP STAFF

Companies should offer support schemes to employees with personal debt problems as part of flexible benefits packages.

With cases of personal insolvency at a record high, this is a problem that is clearly spiralling out of control. Many businesses already provide their employees with a combination of benefits such as pensions, healthcare, company vehicles and other options designed to motivate staff.

With this in mind, why not move with the growing needs of employees and set up a support and advice service to deal with personal issues such as debt worries, which ultimately detract from an employee’s performance in the workplace? this type of support should be part of the HR manager’s role.

The impact of personal debt is underscored by statistics suggesting that one in four people in the UK have financial problems.

Taking a workforce in isolation, it is reasonable to assume that 25 per cent are potentially insolvent and could be declared bankrupt, traditionally, bankruptcy has been a taboo subject among employers, with rigid clauses in employment contracts stating that if bankruptcy does occur, employees will lose their jobs. Where is the sense in that?”

A system in which HR managers are in a position to point struggling employees in the right direction to get help is a more subtle and less stigmatised alternative. By taking control of their debt problems, people frequently experience improved quality of life and are in a position to channel their energies into productive action in the workplace.