More organisations should offer a mid-January pay day to tackle money worries caused by early December pay days, according to PR firm Ready10's managing director David Fraser.
“Everyone who gets paid monthly is familiar with that long wait between the December and January pay days and over the last few years I've seen, particularly with junior staff, how much of an issue this is starting to become,” Fraser told HR magazine. “I hear stories from people who work in all industries, not just PR, about walking to work in January because they can’t afford the bus, or people who are having toast for lunch because they ran out of money before their first paycheque of the new year.
“As an employer when you hear this stuff you can make judgments about people, just say 'well that’s their problem' – or you can help them. London in particular is a bloody tough place to live and work and if this gives people a small amount of assistance then it can’t be a bad thing.”
Communications agency Ready10 offers all staff 13 pay days throughout the year with its 'Goodbye Skint January' scheme. The optional extra payment, which comprises half of the employee’s January pay, enters staff bank accounts halfway through the month. Fraser said he has not encountered another firm offering this benefit.
Ready10 surveyed 1,290 people nationwide and found that 7% of workers had spent their December salary within 10 days of being paid, while a third (34%) spent their December pay packet within 15 days. Nearly six in 10 (58%) under-35s said that they will have spent their December 2016 salary by 13 January 2017.
“I am a firm believer that young people coming into the workforce – and all of our staff apart from me are under 35 – have it harder now than any previous generation in recent memory,” added Fraser. “It’s a time of huge economic and political uncertainty and they are saddled with eye-watering student loan debts while earning less than their predecessors.
“So if this initiative makes things a bit easier, a bit more certain, and a bit more manageable then I think we’ll have happier workers who are able to focus on advancing themselves and their careers.”