In the ever-shifting Covid-19 landscape, companies across all sectors have adapted swiftly, making huge changes to how they do business as they navigate the road ahead. Right now, protecting employees’ physical health and safety has understandably come top of the agenda, but with the British Government’s furlough scheme ending in October, what changes are being considered to ensure workers’ longer-term wellbeing?
Just as coronavirus is affecting everybody, the worry of financial insecurity is also facing a broad spectrum of the population. An estimated 28% of all adults in the UK – that’s 14 million people – have experienced a direct negative effect on their income since the coronavirus outbreak. As we enter the winter months, calls for different measures to soften the impact have come from all sides – from pay rises or universal basic income to increasing housing allowances or providing short-term grants. The question is, could any of these suggestions get up and running quickly, and efficiently enough, to make a tangible difference?
Hassle-free wage advances are already a possibility
Everyone agrees that what we’re currently living through has no comparison in living memory. But when it comes to quick wins that could start helping immediately, consensus is much harder to come by. All the signs point to even more stressful times ahead. So forward-thinking employers are spotting the opportunity to ward off looming problems – for employees and the business in general – by giving their staff more financial flexibility.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is one such example. It has chosen Hastee’s earnings on demand platform to empower its 5,500 staff with the choice to take a portion of their pay as soon as they’ve earned it. The Trust provides the widest range of mental health services in the UK and has wellbeing at the very heart of its mission. Instead of sticking doggedly with the traditional monthly pay cycle, the Trust recognised that offering a safe and integrated pay advance option made complete sense, and could go a long way to reducing the financial stresses their staff may be experiencing.
Why the time to take salary advances seriously is now
Britain’s largest food bank network, The Trussell Trust, has recently warned that by the end of 2020 an additional 670,000 people could be classed as destitute – meaning they cannot afford essentials like housing, energy and food. Companies choosing to shift their thinking on pay advances and offering an employee benefit such as Hastee would not be opening the door to impulsive spending on luxuries or indulgent extras. They would be trusting their staff to take control of their own finances and experience real liquidity. A decision that could truly change people’s lives for the happier and more secure.
To find out more about Hastee’s earnings on demand and how it could benefit you and your employees, click TRY US OUT in the top right hand corner of this page now.
