Oxford specialist on financial help from employers to employees struggling with debt
A financial wellbeing specialist from Oxford shares help this Debt Awareness Week.
This week is debt awareness week and employers are being encouraged to support employees who are struggling financially.
In the UK almost 13 million adults are facing financial difficulty, with less than 1 in every 10 people consulting their employer about their debt.
When asked how money worries have affected their work performance, 38% admitted it had increased stress levels, and a third believed it had caused mental exhaustion.
Jonathan Watts-Lay who is a leading financial wellbeing specialist for Wealth at Work. He's highlighted a few ways people might be spending money without realising.
"People have built up a lot of subscriptions, they don't look at their bank accounts, and then when we go through their bank accounts, they have money going out via direct debit every month for services they'd forgotten about."
Jonathan Watts-Lay also says many employers have good money saving schemes, which employees don't often take up.
"Many employers we work will offer discount vouchers, for example 5% of your weekly shop, but when we look at the data and say how many employees take advantage of that, it's very common for that to be very very low."
He believes employees should consider discussing their money worries more openly with their employers and the ways they can help.