Companies could help lessen the impact of financial hardship on employees’ health and wellbeing by offering loans to help them combat their debts, according to Charles Cotton, performance and reward advisor with the U.K.’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
A recent Standard Life survey of 250 employers revealed that 80% feel responsible for the financial security of their employees. Cotton says employer-backed loans would help employees avoid high charges stemming from bank loans. While lending ability depends on the size of an organization and its financial resources, Cotton says many large companies have the capacity to make this happen.
“Some large organizations even have their own credit unions, so they can offer small amounts of money at relatively low levels,” he said.