In accordance with research conducted by the investment management firm Rathbones, fifty percent of business proprietors in the region provide their employees with regular financial assistance, while another twenty-eight percent provide a one-time flat sum payment to help with rising costs.
This is despite the fact that many businesses, particularly SMBs, are confronting significant cost increases, supply chain issues, and the end of the Energy Bills Support Scheme this month.
Research conducted by Rathbones revealed that higher income (those with over £250,000 in investable assets) across the UK have also been supporting their families.
Half of Northwest company owners are providing emergency financial aid to employees.
In the past six months, 48% of those in the north-west have provided regular financial support for their children or grandchildren’s expenses, while 18% have provided a one-time cash payment.
Many have also provided regular assistance to extended family members such as aunts, uncles, and relatives (38%), as well as close companions (24%).
Richard Dawson, regional director at Rathbones, remarked, “Due to the limited support presently available for small and medium-sized enterprises, many could experience significant cost increases in the coming months.
SMBs account for 99.9 percent of the business population in the United Kingdom and play an essential role as both employers and contributors to our economy.
Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, stated that there is support for businesses in the county:
“We’re definitely getting a really positive response from local employers to the employee benefits package we’ve just launched, which essentially allows them to give employees what amounts to a pay raise at no cost to them beyond Chamber membership through vouchers off supermarket shops, and more, allowing significant savings.
We have also been providing employers with information to assist them link employees to available benefits.
