REWARD
Workplace financial awareness
Jerome Smail, business journalist, presents the views of several industry luminaries on the topic of payroll’s practical role inworkplace financial awareness
A s professionals in the industry will know only too well, payroll isn’t just about…well, payroll anymore. Various elements of the reward piece, such as pensions and employee benefits, have found themselves increasingly within the remit of the function over the last decade. Now, with HR (human resources) becoming more involved in ensuring the wellbeing of workers in terms of finances as well as mental and physical health, how far should payroll departments go in providing services and guidance to improve employees’ financial awareness? To find out, I asked the views of the following leading experts in the field: ● Melissa Blissett , senior consultant, pay gap analytics and financial wellbeing, Barnett Waddingham ● Vickie Graham DipM ACIPP ACIM , CIPP business development director
● Karen Young , director of Hays Accountancy & Finance ● Henry Tapper , chief executive officer of AgeWage. Should payroll departments be a triage service to financial advice? Melissa Blissett: While payroll has an insight into employee financial behaviour around pension contributions, for example, it may be a responsibility too far to take on the role of triaging of financial advice – especially without any knowledge of the employee’s wider financial position. An IFA (independent financial adviser) would never seek to advise without conducting a comprehensive fact find. That said, there may be some best practice to be adopted, such as signposting to the organisation’s employee
assistance programme (EAP) for those taking pay advances or loans. Financial help and guidance is often an EAP’s best kept secret – many employees don’t realise the support may extend beyond mental health support. The payroll team could also signpost to other reputable sources of support such as the government-backed Money and Pension Service (MaPS). Vickie Graham: Within the CIPP’s 2020 Future of Payroll survey we asked members what skills they were planning on developing within the next two years to which 37% said financial awareness and understanding. This suggests that members recognise there is a shift towards payroll providing some basic financial awareness training to employees. It is important to recognise that this basic financial awareness is not financial advice, which is regulated. Payroll professionals can recognise how they can support employees by educating them about their pay, benefits and reward programmes, but also recognise when to signpost them to further financial advice. Karen Young: There are regulations and
...how far should payroll departments go in providing services and guidance to improve employees’ financial awareness?
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2021 | Issue 69 36
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