Employers who connect with their employees about financing property could see an upturn in broader employee benefits engagement according to Jelf Employee Benefits.
Following discussions with employees during the development stages of its Being Better with Money financial education workshops, Jelf Employee Benefits found several common property-related concerns which could lead on to conversations about broader benefits.The main property-related employee concerns were: Saving for a deposit; Understanding the legal fees; Interest rates rises; Affordability; Does losing their job equate to losing their house; Getting through a credit check; Problems with landlords.
Jo Thresher, head of Money at Work, Jelf Employee Benefits said:“Buying a property is a huge commitment, financially and emotionally. Organisations who are sympathetic and understanding of employees’ property-buying concerns will earn their loyalty in the long term. This is especially important now with the recent changes following the Mortgage Market Review; it’s never been more important for people to understand all the financial ramifications of buying a property, and anything that employers can do to assist in that process will be a huge support.”
Four practical ways employers can support their staff through the process of buying and moving house:Employers can’t provide advice about mortgages but they can discuss the importance of getting impartial advice and point employees in the right direction; Employers can however, provide mortgage advice via a third party; Make it easy for employees to save by offering workplace savings packages and communicate the benefits of schemes such as salary sacrifice; offer alternative ways to save such as share schemes to grow savings and build up deposits; offer Income Protection to allay employee’ fears that not being able to work could mean losing their house.
Jo Thresher continued:“Owning a property or moving up the properly ladder is something most people aspire to. If conversations can be started around employees’ more immediate financial planning, the door is then open to continue that engagement about other types of benefits. Research shows that employee who feel cared for are much more* likely to stay with their current employer for longer so the investment is definitely worth it.”
