Members Support Employees During Cost of Living Crisis
Posted on Nov 14, 2022Members of the UK Gasket & Sealing Association (UKGSA) are responding to the current cost of living crisis by supporting their employees.
Responses to our autumn Member’s Survey reported 58 per cent of companies had given pay rises to their employees and 42 per cent had given one-off support payments.
In an effort to offset the impact of their own increases in running costs, 75 per cent of Members had introduced energy saving schemes to help reduce costs.
It was also reported that only 17 per cent of Members felt September’s mini-budget presented by the then Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, positively affected them and 25 per cent felt it had negatively affected their business.
Simon Winfield, Chairman of the UKGSA and director of MacLellan Rubber, said: “The response by our Members to provide some sort of financial support to their employees demonstrates that they value their workforce.”
“It is a difficult time for many SME’s in our sector and, like many industries we are still reeling from the repercussions of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic and are now facing ongoing increases in raw material, utility and shipping costs with fluctuating exchange rates having a big impact.”
“Employees from office staff to the shop floor will be feeling the pinch especially in the run up to Christmas, so it’s important that business owners and senior management are aware of the impact that financial worries can have on the mental wellbeing of their workforce.”
Mental Health at Work have produced a toolkit called ‘The cost of living crisis and your mental health’ which offers advice and guidance to employers.
For more information visit https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/toolkit/the-cost-of-living-crisis-and-your-mental-health/
To view the results of our Member Survey download our Autumn 2022 newsletter.
