October began with the continuing fallout of September’s Mini Budget, after which the pound slumped in value and the Bank of England pledged to buy billions of pounds’ worth of government debt in the form of bonds.
The market turmoil is prompting many people to worry about how it will affect their mortgage, pension, and their overall cost of living. Our work force at Glen is 90% part time, many receive support in Universal Credit or work multiple jobs. The cost-of-living concerns are very real.
As we write, the UK Inflation Rate is at 10.1%, compared to 3.20% last year. This is higher than the long-term average of 2.62%. In real terms (adjusted for inflation) over the year, regular pay has fallen by 2.9%.
The unemployment rate released in October 2022 decreased by 0.3 percentage points on the quarter to 3.5%, the lowest rate since December to February 1974, according to the ONS and vacancies remains at historically high levels.
The statutory National Living Wage has meant pay rises for those at the very bottom of the pay scale. In reality, however, many people report a fall in their financial security, something that could worsen depending on when, how and if the government reduces its support for people and business.
Money worries have been shown to impact employees' ability to do their job, and we, like all others in our industry, are struggling to make the productivity gains we need to enable real term pay rises across the board.
At Glen we believe we have a responsibility to support the financial wellbeing of our people. This includes paying a fair and liveable wage, supporting people to progress into higher-paid roles, and providing access to information and guidance to help staff manage their finances.
In November we will introduce Wagestream which offers a range of charity-backed financial wellbeing tools built around pay, our aim is to support and build better financial health for our people.
