As our energy costs are rising and national insurance increases are on their way, employees may already be asking for wage rises with the cost of living being at an all-time high and UK inflation reaching over 5%.
As an employer, if you are considering contractual changes or offering additional benefits to your workforce, here are 4 things you must know to aid both staff recruitment and retention:
- Check if you are prepared for the statutory rises in April 2022
The National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage rates will increase from 1st April 2022, as well as the costs of statutory provisions such as statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay, so consider that you may need to adjust your staff pay anyway to ensure compliance with this.
- Consider your pay policy/pay structure
Having a policy or pay structure that specified how (or when) your employees will receive pay increases is good practice. It is important to adjust staff pay if your policy promises a rise to match living costs, otherwise you may face grievances for breach of contract.
- Consider the benefits of increasing pay
Although it is not a legal requirement, increasing your employee’s pay has a number of benefits for your business, such as retaining staff, improving employee morale and building your Company reputation. Prices have risen by 5.4% within the past year; have you raised your staff salaries in that time? If not, consider increasing wages to keep your employees in line with the same standard of living.
- What if you cannot offer pay increases right now?
You can help your employees save money in other ways without increasing their wages by offering additional benefits. These can include additional annual leave, introducing occupational (Company) sick pay, private healthcare, death in service, car leasing or allowances, implementing ‘well-being’ days or on-the-go lunches. You could consider offering hybrid or remote working to remove the expense of bus/train tickets or petrol, or offer subsidised benefits such as discounted gym membership, free counselling and eye tests.
If we can help you with this or any other HR issue, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our HR Team at HR Services Scotland Ltd on 0800 652 2610 (select option 1 for HR)
