Tag: financial wellbeing

A proactive approach to avoiding bad press in the Gig Economy

Gig economy work provides choice and flexibility. In theory, that is what self-employed workers want. But it doesn’t stop there.

Companies such as Uber, Deliveroo, TaskRabbit, and many others are responsible for providing over 1.3 million people with an income in the UK. Although we love the convenience and often cheaper prices these services provide, it is concerning to read the negative press around gig economy workers rights.

Several tribunals and court cases have demonstrated that gig economy workers aren’t self-employed, in the traditional sense. Under UK law, they are limb (b) workers, entitled to many of the same rights as employees, such as such as paid holidays, minimum wage and protection from discrimination. However, judges, the government, trade unions and the Taylor review all support the further strengthening of gig economy workers rights.

What can gig economy employers do?

Take action. As we have seen with Uber, local authorities can take action to shut down operations (in London and York, so far). Judges can also fine companies that fail to respect workers rights. Is a change in the law far away? One cannot be certain, which is why taking a proactive approach is the most sensible way forward.

For companies in this sector, now is the perfect time to take on these challenges proactively before it’s too late. Offer something new. Give freelancers another reason to use your platform and keep working with you, thereby solving another problem: high turnover amongst partners.

One of the main reasons people provide services through gig economy platforms is to boost income. Or get out of debt. Or start saving. Help them achieve these goals. We can help you do that, at no charge to you.

Increase savings, reduce debts: Support your teams

With a FairQuid Save As You Borrow loan, we use the point of borrowing to nudge people to save. Together with not-for-profit, member-owned partners, Credit Unions, we provide fair access to credit and help people get financially fit. Repayments and pre-determined savings amounts are deducted straight from salaries. Eligibility is based on length of service and performance with the employer thus rewarding loyalty to be used as a credit currency.

Our partner employers that are already offering these to their people have found that productivity and engagement are up, and turnover down. For those in the gig economy, this makes a huge difference for customers, since they will receive a better quality of service by highly valued workers. Everyone wins. And with a benefit rooted in the strong commitment to your people’s financial wellbeing, this should go a long way towards demonstrating which side of the employee rights debate your company is on. Contact us to learn more, today.

Improve Your Employee Financial Wellbeing With Practical Solutions

Once known as a nation of savers, UK consumers are now more likely to use credit than savings for emergencies and other purchases such as holidays.

Savings are at the lowest levels since 1963. Over a decade of low-interest rates since the recession, have made it easier to borrow and reduced the benefits of keeping money in savings accounts.

Since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) started collecting data on borrowing in 1987, UK households became net borrowers in 2017. A worrying trend. It means the amount people borrow now exceeds the amount they’re depositing in bank accounts, pushing savings ratios to record lows, currently at 4.9% of their disposable income.

We’ve seen this before

High levels of debt, governments, banks and property companies encouraging people to buy houses, low levels of savings, and some economic uncertainty. It sounds too familiar, too much like the opening scenes of the world economic meltdown.

Brexit doesn’t help matters either, throwing a whole other set of uncertainties into the mix.

A debt charity, StepChange spokeswoman, said to the BBC “If we could shift that balance a bit, especially for lower income households, we could improve the financial wellbeing of many households and prevent many experiencing problem debt.”

An accessible emergency savings fund of £1,000 per household would lift 500,000 out of problem debt. People could use savings when necessary, instead of turning to predatory lenders.

Can and should employers help?

Yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to lend money to staff or increase wages. Companies can only afford salary increases in-line with their own budgets and revenue forecasts. Lending money comes with huge challenges and implications so isn’t always advisable either.

Financial education, although well-meaning, only goes so far and fails to tackle the real problem: Managing too much debt and not enough savings. Companies rarely get much of an ROI from such programs, and employees don’t feel the benefits.

Offering practical solutions, for a practical problem, is the way forward. FairQuid Employee Wellbeing Solutions are a practical solution that is proving popular amongst employees at companies we are working with. Members of your team can gain access to loans (with automatic, built-in savings accounts) from Credit Unions.

Not only do these services reduce employee financial stress, it means they can start saving straight away.

With debts reducing and savings growing, employee absence, time off due to stress, and turnover, reduces. Be a responsible business and join us to support employees to become debt-free, today.