HELPING YOUR EMPLOYEES THROUGH THE COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS

Welcome to our round-up of the latest business news for our clients. Please?contact us?if you want to talk about how these updates affect your business. We are here to support you!

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has put together some practical information for employers to support their employees through the cost-of-living crisis.

Against a backdrop of soaring prices for food, energy and other essential goods and services, many employers in the UK are asking what they can do to support their people’s financial wellbeing.?

Several UK employers are generously topping up pay packets with a cost-of-living payment.?The CIPD’s summer Labour Market Outlook for 2022 finds that 15% of organisations have paid, or are planning to pay, such a payment to some or all their workers, while a further 15% have the matter under review. Private sector firms are most likely to have paid this bonus (18%) – especially those in the primary and utilities (30%),?financial services (26%), and?construction (25%) sectors.

Even if you cannot afford to offer inflation-beating pay rises, there is still a lot you can do to ease the stress and anxiety your workforce is facing. The CIPD say that now is the time to review your financial wellbeing policies and benefits packages to make sure they are working as hard as they can – especially for those that are most likely to be struggling to make ends meet.

They suggest the following things to consider:

• Review your reward strategy – if you can afford to offer a cost-of-living bonus, make sure it doesn’t inadvertently do?more harm than good for those who claim Universal Credit or Tax Credits.
• Review your?financial wellbeing policy?– do your people know what help is on offer and how to get it??
• Review your?benefits package?– is it working hard enough for those most in need? Again, does everyone know what’s on offer and how to access it?
• Train your managers – an empathetic and approachable management style can help?normalise conversations about money, and let employees seek the help they need.
• Examine the CIPD?Reward management survey, which looks at the various ways employers are helping with financial wellbeing and tackling in-work poverty.

For the full guidance and example case studies see:?Supporting employees through the cost-of-living crisis | CIPD

Employment status and employment rights

Employment status affects everyone who works. Pay, leave and working conditions can all depend on employment status. People with different employment statuses have different rights set out in law. The rights are designed to protect individuals. Most of the rights are compulsory, and usually cannot be signed away. The UK Government has recently issued new guidance.

The?guidance?complements the existing GOV.UK?Employment status?guidance, and provides practical advice and examples on:

• Employment status and how it determines the employment rights individuals are entitled to and for which employers are responsible.
• Factors determining an individual’s employment status.
• Special circumstances and recent developments in the labour market.
• How employment status should be determined for different sectors.
• Where to go for further information.

There are 2 additional pieces of guidance for:

• Individuals, to help them understand their employment status so that they know their rights, can have informed discussions with their employer about them, and can take steps to claim them and have them enforced where necessary.
• Employers or engagers, to help them understand individuals’ employment status so they comply with the law, helping ensure individuals receive the rights they are entitled to and avoid unnecessary disputes and associated costs. Read More...