Clare Greechan of debt experts Trust Deed Scotland talks about difficult employee conversations and how you can handle them.
Sudden pay rise request
Requests for pay rises aren’t uncommon, but they can be difficult to handle. If there is disparity across your pay structure, or you don’t really have proper salary bands in place, then be prepared to handle salary requests.
Money-wise, of course, a pay rise request might not sit well with you, especially if your finances are not in the best shape. Take some time to think about it, and always make sure you act fairly. If you think they deserve a pay rise, then, quite simply, pay them. If you believe in the talent of your employee then granting them a pay rise should keep them on board for some time to come.
If you simply cannot afford, as a business, to raise their salary, then explain this to your employee, and offer them a non-financial reward, like a gym membership or magazine subscription. If you think they need to put a little bit more work in, offer a pay rise provided certain goals are met, like getting to grips with a new system, working with another department, training staff or doing presentations.
What’s really important when it comes to handling pay rise requests is to be consistent. Ensure you always follow your policy. This will make everything so much easier, especially if one request for a salary increase triggers a flood of others.
Help with financial problems
With the number of people in debt in the UK, it’s likely you’ll have members of staff with money worries in your organisation. From rent arrears to credit card debt to mortgage arrears, there are a whole host of ways for employees to fall into debt. If someone chooses to confide in you that they’ve got a problem, then that’s a good thing – it shows they trust you and they’re willing to work with you.
A good first place to start is to point your employee in the direction of your Employee Assistance Programme, if you have one. These are designed to give employees confidential advice about all manner of personal issues, such as money, relationships, alcohol, drugs and more.
If you would like to explain to your employee some of the debt options available to them, then for employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an individual voluntary arrangement is one option, as are debt management plans. In Scotland, there are trust deeds, which work in a similar way to IVAs.
Oh, and if you’re a National Minimum Wage employer, you could start paying the Living Wage – this would put a few extra pounds in your employees’ pockets.
Request for a sabbatical
Requests for sabbaticals, career breaks or additional time off are increasingly common and can affect businesses of all shapes and sizes. It’s not hard to see why staff request them. The desire to travel, to pick up new skills, or to do some charity work are all common reasons why people are looking to take a bit of extended leave.
As a business, like with pay rise requests, having a consistent policy that you will stick to is what’s absolutely key here. If you approve a sabbatical request, consider giving yourself a grace period of, say, a month, to help you prepare for the member of staff not being around (additional freelance resource, for example).
If the sabbatical is purely business related, ask your employee to demonstrate why they think it will be of benefit – not just to them but to the wider business too. While you may worry that your employee won’t come back from a sabbatical, career break or patch of extended time off, think of it as a great way to keep a worker who might otherwise leave your company. Not to mention, one who will come back refreshed and armed with new skills.
