Debt awareness: How employers can support employees with debt

11 min to read

1 April 2026

Mum and daughter with a piggy bank for Debt Awareness week Blog

Debt Awareness Week highlights how financial stress and problem debt affect UK employees and workplace performance. We're keeping the conversation going because it's a topic that impacts so many people every day of the year. This blog explains what employee debt is, why it’s rising and the practical steps employers can take to improve employee financial wellbeing and productivity, from financial education to benefits and confidential support.

In a hurry? Here are the top three things to take away from our blog on supporting employees with debt.

1. Employee debt is already affecting performance, whether you see it or not: Financial stress does not stay at home. Problem debt causes a reduction in concentration, higher absenteeism and lost productivity, with money worries costing the UK economy billions in lost working hours. Many employees are struggling in silence, and only a minority seek help before problems escalate. For HR, this makes debt a people risk and a business risk, not just a personal issue.

2. Pay rises alone will not fix the problem: Even where wages are rising, they are often failing to keep pace with real living costs. Employees can still fall into debt despite pay increases, particularly when fixed costs such as rent, utilities and transport continue to rise. This reinforces a critical point for HR leaders: financial wellbeing strategies must go beyond salary, especially in periods of economic volatility.

3. Employers can make a real difference without becoming debt advisers: HR does not need to solve employees’ finances directly. The most effective role is to create a culture of trust and provide practical, confidential support. Three levers that matter most: normalising conversations about money, signposting to professional and confidential help, and offering benefits that reduce everyday financial pressure. Used together, these interventions help prevent debt from becoming unmanageable while protecting employee dignity and wellbeing.

Got time to stick around? Let's dive a little deeper.

Employees experiencing problem debt bring their financial anxiety to work, impacting their ability to manage stress, productivity and engagement. In this blog, we’ll share recent statistics that give insights into the levels of debt your employees face. We’ll also share the steps you can take to support them, helping to enhance their financial wellbeing so they can thrive at work, home and beyond.

Employee debt in the UK: key facts

“Debt isn’t something to be ashamed of. With the right support, people can regain control before problems escalate,” says StepChange Debt Charity.

Here’s what you need to know about employee debt:

UK households owed £1.93 trillion by November 2025.
Average household debt reached £66,940.
Only 1 in 3 people in serious debt seek professional help.
Financial stress contributes to lost productivity and absenteeism.

Research suggests that employees experiencing money worries cost the UK economy approximately £120bn and 17.5 million lost hours of work, so it pays for employers to offer financial wellbeing support (Financial Capability).

What is Debt Awareness Week?

Debt Awareness Week, run by StepChange Debt Charity (16th - 22nd March), brings debt awareness solutions to the Nation. Debt isn’t something to be ashamed of – anyone with a mortgage or credit card is in debt. As StepChange says, ‘Debt happens. Let’s deal with it.’

When it comes to debt, the important thing is to act. Step one? Speaking to those who can provide support and help manage the situation before it gets out of control.

What is employee debt?

Employee debt refers to the personal financial obligations your employees carry, such as mortgages, credit cards, loans, overdrafts, store cards, and bills. While not all debt is problematic for you as an employer, it becomes a workplace issue when an employee struggles to meet repayments, which can lead to stress, distraction, and declining performance.

Let’s take a look at how big an issue this actually is: by the end of September 2025, people in the UK owed £1,925.1 billion – that’s an increase of £55.5 billion on the previous year and an extra £992 per UK adult. From January to October 2025, the Citizens Advice Bureau in England and Wales dealt with around 1,280 debt issues every day (The Money Charity).

Over half of people of working age in the UK live in households with less than 3 months’ wages saved (The Money Charity), and the cost of living has been rising since 2022. What started as a steep incline has steadied, but as businesses face rising costs, consumers are set to feel the pinch.

Your employees face different challenges depending on their circumstances. House prices may have fallen, but renters deal with record-high charges (ONS). In October 2025, the average debt per UK household clocked in at £66,772. On average, each UK adult has approximately £4,352 worth of unsecured debt (The Money Charity).

As your employee benefits and engagement partner, we’re bringing this conversation to the workplace and your employees.

When you investigate employee debt online, you’ll find situations where the DWP may deduct benefits overpayments directly from an employee’s salary, reclaiming debts that way. We’re suggesting a more holistic approach: highlighting the debt your employees face and what you can do to support them when debt becomes problematic – or even prevent it from occurring in the first place.

Employee financial wellbeing in the workplace guide

Claim your free copy of the Employer's Guide to Financial Wellbeing to create a culture of financial resilience in your business. You can also check out our blog post on financial wellbeing to find out more about what this means to you and your employees.

What’s causing employee debt?

Remember, not all debt is bad; mortgages, car finance agreements, and credit cards are all considered personal debt. Most of the time, we can manage these payments. It’s when what’s coming in can’t cover the cost of what we need to pay out that problems begin.

According to ONS, the median pay increase recorded in January 2026 was 4.6%, which is currently slightly higher than the rate of inflation. It is worth noting that higher wage increases in the retail sector (6.2%) are likely to have driven up this overall median figure. Employees in the insurance and finance sectors, for example, saw an average increase of 2.1%, which is closer to the median increase experts predicted for 2026.

The Bank of England warned in March 2026 that recent conflicts could push inflation back up, potentially narrowing this gap. Many employees will find themselves in a situation where their salaries won’t stretch as far as they need to, even with a pay increase.

When salaries don’t stretch far enough, the first thing people consider is making cuts. It's a practical approach, but there are expenses we can’t ignore, such as our rent, mortgage, utility bills, and the cost of keeping a car on the road. When salaries can’t keep up with the increasing cost of living, your employees are more likely to find themselves getting into a cycle of debt, and this is when employee debt becomes a problem.

How employers can support employees with debt

Here are four ways employers can support employees with debt ranging from a cultural shift to providing crisis support:

Normalise conversations about money: encourage open, stigma-free discussions about financial wellbeing.
Provide confidential support options: promote Employee Assistance Programmes and third-party debt advice services.
Offer practical financial benefits: discounts, salary deduction schemes and cashback can reduce everyday costs.
Educate before crisis hits: provide guidance on budgeting, saving and debt management.

Reduce employee debt

Reduce the risk of employees falling into debt while saving your business money. Download our guide to learn how.

Download here

What is debt support?

Debt Awareness Week is the perfect time to launch or revive your employee financial wellbeing initiatives to support employees facing debt and prevent others from falling into it, but it's important to keep the momentum going all year.

There are many ways you can provide debt support, which we’ll review next, but before you embed any strategies, you must create an environment where employees feel they can turn to their employer or manager for help. Too many people suffer with problem debt in silence, and it’s not a hole they can easily dig themselves out of alone. Knowing that their employer has their back and will help them find the proper support can mean the difference between spiralling and thriving.

Financial education

Why consider offering employee financial education? Because 39% of adults (20.3 million) don’t feel confident managing their money (Financial Capability). As an employer, you can bridge the knowledge gap by providing money management and budgeting workshops. You can deliver financial education through an online course or invite external experts into your business to answer questions that employees may not even know they need to ask.

Financial first aiders

Financial First Aiders are employees trained in financial wellbeing. Their role is to provide a confidential ear and peer-to-peer support, enabling them to help colleagues experiencing financial difficulties. By providing free and impartial guidance and signposting colleagues to additional resources, Financial First Aiders can help prevent debt from becoming unmanageable or spiralling out of control.

How to help employees with debt

If salaries aren’t stretching far enough and pay rises aren’t making the desired impact, strengthen your financial wellbeing strategy with employee benefits.

Our Employee Discounts Platform provides up to 20% off everyday essentials, holidays, treats, and experiences your employees and their families can enjoy. Available on the go, your employees reap the savings when they purchase discounted voucher codes from a vast range of high street and high-end retailers, online and in-store.
Our Pluxee Cashback Card is another way to offer significant financial support to your employees and their families, as they can top it up themselves and earn up to 15% cashback at participating retailers. It’s also great as a budgeting tool because your employees can load money onto their balance and use it to earn cashback on their weekly shop and other essentials.

Salary deduction schemes

We have two salary deduction schemes – SmartPay and Refurbished Tech -- that help your employees spread the cost of tech and lifestyle purchases (even home improvements) without going into debt.

The average credit card debt per UK household in November 2025 was £2,691 (The Money Charity), up from £ 2,500 in November 2024. As of January 2026, outstanding credit card debt totalled approximately £78 billion – a 12.4% increase on the previous year (Bank of England). The picture is not improving.

The problem with relying too much on credit is that it can become a cycle. So can the debt, especially if you can only make the minimum monthly repayments. With a salary deduction scheme, employees can determine the repayment period and see how much their employer will deduct from their account each month – with no interest added!

Address the mental health impact of financial stress

The ONS ran a study on financial anxiety in adults, with 82% of interviewees in the 30 to 49 age group feeling either ‘somewhat’ or ‘very worried’ about the rising cost of living.

In addition to offering financial education, salary-stretching employee benefits and financial support solutions, your people will also benefit from mental health support. There are different levels of anxiety, but in its worst case – severe anxiety – it can be debilitating within all areas of a person's life. It could even affect an employee’s ability to perform their role, worsening workplace stress and increasing the risk of burnout or breakdown.

You can give your people a safe space to turn by embedding an Employee Assistance Programme into your business. It also includes financial wellbeing features, providing your people with access to BACP-accredited counsellors 24/7, ensuring support is available whenever they need professional, confidential help. They’ll also have access to information specialists trained in debt support and financial guidance.

Want to learn more about Employee Assistance Programmes? Check out our blog post to learn how you can create a culture that fosters honest conversations in your business, ensuring your people always have someone to talk to.

Support and alleviate employee debt with Pluxee UK

There isn’t just one solution for supporting your employees’ financial wellbeing. A business with effective employee debt support strategies needs a culture of trust that encourages openness about any financial difficulties they may be experiencing. From there, you can implement workplace financial stress solutions that are fit for purpose and have the greatest impact.

How Pluxee supports employee financial wellbeing:

Everyday savings through employee discounts.
Cashback and salary‑deduct benefits.
Employee Assistance Programmes for confidential guidance.
Tools that help reduce financial stress without increasing payroll costs.

Pluxee UK has been supporting employers for over 20 years, and we continue to make it our mission to help you help your people succeed – through times of crisis and beyond.