Addressing the  Cost of Living Crisis for Employees

Everyone is talking about the cost-of-living crisis – and if you’re a business owner, you probably want to try and help your employees…

But you have to find a way of doing so that won’t adversely impact the company, which will be dealing with its own escalating costs: from energy and raw materials to services and interest rates.

You may consider giving people a wage rise – but are you sure it’s sustainable?

After all, if you give your team a rise of around 10% (in line with inflation) this year – you may find it could give you cashflow issues – and it will be even harder to give another percentage increase on those higher salaries if inflation continues to rise next year.

Bonus v Pay Increase

One of our Directors, Ben Edwards, has more than 10 years’ experience of guiding SMEs, and works particularly with owner-managed businesses.  He explained: “Perhaps an alternative solution to a pay rise might be a one-off bonus payment: it would give people that extra cash in their pocket right now, without giving you a potential financial headache in a future that is far from clear”.

“Another way you can help is to make sure employees are aware of any tax relief that they could be claiming on their own behalf.”

Tax Reliefs Available to Employees

Ben lists a number of items that fall into this category including:

• Professional subscriptions
• Specialist clothing (that they use only for work)
• Working from home allowance

For more information, check  the government website: Claim tax relief for your job expenses

And what about the business itself – are there any tax breaks that you’re not currently taking advantage of? One that company owners often miss is R&D Tax Credits.

Why not get in touch with Ben for a no obligation chat –  ben.edwards@affordbond.com