82% of young UK retail workers worried about finances due to zero hour contracts

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 24, 2017

The vast majority of retail workers under the age of 34 are struggling to pay their day-to-day bills as an increase in zero hour contracts is undermining their ability to budget, plan and save money.

According to a nationwide study of the financial wellbeing of UK workers from Neyber, 51% of young retail workers are borrowing money to meet their financial needs, and over a third of them cite financial worries as their main concern.

By contrast, 47% of UK HR directors think that their workers’ main concern is their work-life balance, indicating a misalignment between workers and employers.

The report highlights the way zero hour contracts are undermining the wellbeing of the industry, with 57% of retail workers facing an income fluctuation of more than 10% each month. This type of contract, where the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum working hours, is hindering employees’ ability to manage their money on a day-to-day basis. Further, the income fluctuation is contributing to financial exclusion due to an inability to access cost-effective financial products, says the report.

Indeed, 82% of retail workers aged between 18-34 have been affected by financial worries in the past year, revealed the survey.

"At a time when personal finances are under increasing pressure, employers have a duty to offer greater support to their employees.  We are calling for more companies to provide a facility to allow employees to have access to financial education tools, saving facilities and access to low cost loans,” said Monica Kalia, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Neyber.

“Financial wellbeing should be included in every company's employee engagement strategy.  It's the right thing to do and a financially resilient workforce can only be positive for the company and the UK economy as a whole.”