Strategic HR Employer housing support
Out of
house
and
home
This is particularly bad news given
that the rental market is equally bleak.
A typical worker living in London can
expect to see 56% of their hard-earned
net income swallowed by rent each
month, the Centre for Social Justice
(CSJ)’s Housing that Works 2019
report found.
Feeling the squeeze
So the housing crisis is creating a
perfect storm for the UK workforce.
According to CSJ figures almost half
(48%) of large UK employers say that
housing issues have a negative effect on
staff wellbeing. At the more extreme
end of the scale is the growing epidemic
of in-work poverty. Shelter’s In work,
but out of a home report estimated that
33,000 working families were living
in temporary accommodation or
hostels in 2017.
Employers are starting to suffer too.
More than half say housing issues
adversely affect recruitment (54%) and
retention (50%), and 43% that they
harm business productivity.
the CSJ. “Whether that’s high housing
costs locking people out of work in
certain areas – leading in other cases to
tiring and long commutes – or housing
insecurity reducing productivity.”
It’s a reality Lauren Adams, HR
director at the Confederation of British
Industry (CBI), sees within her own
workforce. “We’ve felt it – when it
comes to recruiting talent can be
limited. We have a lot of younger
workers at the start of their careers, and
we know from our HR data that a lot of
them are renting or first-time buyers so
they are especially affected by the
housing situation,” she says.
Which has a knock-on effect on D&I,
particularly around social mobility,
Adams adds. “We don’t want only those
living on the periphery of London to be
able to work here,” she says.
So to differentiate themselves as
employers of choice some forwardthinking
firms are adding housing
support to their benefits packages.
Principal at Aon Jeff Fox says this is
the type of perk employees are looking
Lack of affordable housing
and spiralling rents are affecting
multiple generations of workers.
RACHEL SHARP hears whether
employers should be providing
more assistance here
“It’s having a damaging impact on
much of the UK workforce,” says Joe
Shalam, head of financial inclusion at
for today.
Those worried about getting a
foot on the housing ladder –
particularly in the ever-more
exorbitant Big Smoke – needn’t fear.
A quick look on Rightmove to see
what’s available in London at the lower
end of the market reveals one of the
cheapest ‘properties’ will set you back a
mere £20,000, and is ideally located in
Crystal Palace… Admittedly it is a
garage (although it does boast a rather
exciting ‘NEW ROOF’).
Or if you prefer something a bit
closer to your job in the City you can be
the proud owner of somewhere just off
Oxford Street for only £75,000. So long
as a) you don’t mind sleeping in your
car, and b) you can afford a car. You’ve
guessed it… it’s a parking space.
And so the UK housing crisis
rumbles on, with the average cost
of a home in the capital reaching
£466,824 in June 2019 according to
HM Land Registry. While Londoners
and young people may be the hardest
hit, the rest of the UK population
is far from immune. A lack of
affordable housing, with house
prices rising faster than wages, has
created a nation of renters.
32 HR October 2019 hrmagazine.co.uk
/hrmagazine.co.uk