Employers are increasingly being recognised as central to improving the UK’s financial resilience, following the publication of the financial inclusion strategy by HM Treasury in November.
That was a key theme at a recent roundtable hosted at Guildhall by the City of London Corporation, where the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing brought together policymakers, employers and providers to discuss how workplaces can play a more advanced role in supporting employee financial wellbeing.
The context is stark. Data from Zellis suggests 92% of employees experienced financial stress in the past year, with 89% saying it affected their performance at work. At the same time, poor financial resilience affects nearly a quarter of UK adults – with growing evidence of a direct link between financial strain and mental health.
According to Gethin Nadin, Chair of the Policy Liaison Group, employers now occupy a uniquely influential position.
“Trust sits at the heart of this debate,” he said. “Employers are often more trusted than traditional financial institutions. The state of the nation’s savings, coupled with the link between financial wellbeing and mental health, demands much greater workplace support.”
Beyond education: why tailoring support matters
The discussion highlighted how financial stress now cuts across demographics — from graduates to those nearing retirement, and across income levels.
While financial education remains important, speakers stressed that support must move beyond information and towards practical, accessible solutions tailored to workforce needs.
For lower-income workers in particular, there is growing recognition that solutions often skew towards white-collar populations. Shifting the default response to financial shocks from debt to savings is increasingly seen as critical.
At SUEZ, automatic savings enrolment helped boost participation significantly, according to Michelle Sutton.
“When we moved to automatic enrolment, participation rose to 50%,” she said. “By removing complexity and low confidence barriers, we made it easier for people to take action.”
Can earned wage access play a growing role?
Another area gaining traction is earned wage access, which allows employees to access pay they have already earned before payday.
Hastee has seen growing adoption of the model, although stigma still exists in some sectors. Rachel Harte and Clemens Moehring highlighted the importance of helping employers understand the productivity and retention benefits — particularly for SMEs, which employ over 60% of the UK workforce.
The mental health connection employers can’t ignore
Speakers also stressed the growing overlap between financial strain and mental health demand.
At Onebright, clinicians are seeing sharp increases in financial concerns among those seeking psychological support, according to Shamira Graham.
Financial strain and mental health have a two-way relationship: financial difficulty increases anxiety and depression risk, while poor mental health can reduce decision-making capability and worsen financial outcomes.
Meanwhile, others warned against relying solely on education-led approaches. Maria Paviour noted that when financial stress is highest, people often have the lowest capacity to absorb information.
Proving ROI will unlock progress — especially for SMEs
Perhaps the strongest message from the roundtable was that proving return on investment remains the biggest barrier to scaling employer-led financial wellbeing support.
While large employers are increasingly embedding financial wellbeing into workforce strategy, smaller organisations often struggle to evidence business impact — slowing adoption.
The consensus: employer leadership, supported by clearer regulatory direction and stronger collaboration between government, providers and employers, will be essential to turning policy ambition into real workforce outcomes.
With financial inclusion now firmly on the policy agenda, employers are being called on not just to offer support — but to demonstrate the measurable difference it makes.
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