How to spot and support employees in vulnerable circumstances

Vulnerability can affect us all and is often difficult to spot at work.

With almost half (47%) of UK adults experiencing characteristics of vulnerability, it’s vital that employers provide support in the moments that matter.

But what does vulnerability look like and how can you best support employees?

What does it mean to be vulnerable?

Any one of us could find ourselves in vulnerable circumstances at some point in our lives.

While vulnerability can look different for everyone, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calls out four key drivers that could increase someone’s risk of harm:

1. Health: Conditions or illnesses that affect people’s ability to carry out their day-to-day activities. This could be a long-term illness or a one-off incident which could put someone in a vulnerable situation.

2. Life events: Major life events such as bereavement, job loss, or relationship breakdown. These could have a significant impact on someone’s ability to manage their living costs and financial responsibilities.

3. Financial resilience: Low ability to withstand financial or emotional shocks. So if someone’s circumstances changed overnight, would they have enough money set aside to weather any storms?

4. Financial capability: Low financial understanding or low confidence in managing money. This could make it difficult for someone to make well-informed decisions about their day-to-day or long-term finances.

It’s also important to remember that some people might experience long-term vulnerability, whilst for others it might be temporary. It could even change from one day to the next. And vulnerability can affect people at all life stages.

More affected by vulnerability than we think

The FCA found that 47% of UK adults showed one or more characteristics of vulnerability. But our own research at Standard Life indicates that this figure could actually be a lot higher.

As part of Phoenix Group we led research in 2022 into how vulnerability is affecting our customers. We found that:

7 in 10 display one or more characteristics of vulnerability
1 in 2 have low financial capability
1 in 4 have low financial resilience

Supporting vulnerable employees

Everyone has the potential to be vulnerable. And many of your employees could be affected right now.

When selecting benefits for employees it is important to ensure the products and services provided support employees who are going through a tough time. At Standard Life, we invest heavily in our vulnerable customer programme so that we can help people when they need it most.

Here’s how to ensure your benefits support vulnerable employees:

1. Digital tools to help boost financial resilience

Digital tools can help to build financial confidence and resilience. They can be accessed easily and anonymously, at any time.

For example, our financial wellbeing platform, Money Mindset*, has a suite of content and resources to help employees get to know their money better. Other financial tools can help employees set savings goals and set aside money for a rainy day.

2. Support from Samaritans-trained frontline colleagues

Talking about money worries can make a big difference to people’s financial resilience and capability.

According to the Money and Pensions Service, people who talk about money make better and less risky financial decisions and feel less stressed or anxious and more in control.

Find out what provisions your benefits provider(s) have in place to support vulnerable employees. Our frontline customer teams are here to listen to and support employees. They’re trained by Samaritans on active listening techniques. This can help them become better listeners and gives them the skills to support vulnerable employees when they need it most. You could even consider introducing this for your own HR teams.

3. Products and services designed with care at their core

Understanding employees’ needs is critical to providing the right support. Gathering employee data, taking part in employee forums and regularly reviewing benefits with a diversity, equity & inclusion lens can all help to identify vulnerabilities and areas within your benefits strategy that need attention.

At Standard Life we use immersive VR and technology – such as gloves simulating arthritis and glasses for simulating visual impairments – to help us walk in the shoes of others. Alongside our research and data, this helps us understand accessibility challenges so that we can design our products and services with vulnerability in mind.