Employee wellbeing and welfare reform
Patrick Harkness, Senior Consultant at Consult Capital explores how the changes to Welfare Reform
are likely to impact on the wellbeing of the providers’ employees.
Welfare Reform
April 1st saw the start of the biggest
transformation of the welfare system in
decades. Thousands of households will be
affected by sweeping changes to taxes
and benefits, including a cap on benefits,
scrapping disability allowance, and the
introduction of the Bedroom Tax and
Universal Credit.
Changes to the way the state governs
the lives of those living in social housing
are generated by UK Government, but
implementation (especially of the Bedroom
Tax) falls to the landlord.
Remaining true to their
founding values
The reforms are causing anxiety across the
housing sector as organisations struggle
to balance the need to collect revenue,
whilst retaining their tenant-centric ethos.
There will be stressful decisions for staff
to take; decisions that will raise some
uncomfortable questions making it hard to
reconcile the values and the needs of the
business.
The Bedroom Tax
Critics of the Bedroom Tax, are not without
just cause.
Unfortunately for those implementing
the tax, many cases will not be cut and
dried. And many will be filled with the kind
of conflict that some employees will not be
equipped to deal with.
This is particularly relevant in terms of
tenants with disabilities. The Government
indicates that, 420,000 of those affected
have some form of disability, which affords
them no right to exemption from the new
laws. Recent partial government U-turns on
this matter may alleviate the worst impacts
for some, but by no means all.
Perhaps less emotive, but nevertheless
difficult to deal with is the fact that a
household’s benefit is cut even if there
is no alternative accommodation of the
correct size available. So tenants are being
penalised for not living in housing to which
they have no access.
Tough choices
Many providers have taken steps to protect
their residents, largely by launching large
scale awareness campaigns offering
detailed advice and support, with some
reclassifying properties as smaller homes
taking some of their residents out of
the danger zone. However, this is not a
sustainable situation as reclassifications
of properties present a significant
drop in income for landlords. The most
recent reports indicate that a significant
proportion of those tenants who are
impacted are not paying their rent in full.
The most difficult dilemma will be the
consistent application of criteria used to
decide who is choosing not to pay their
rent, and who is unable to do so; and
decisions on whether to use Ground 8 of
the most common form of tenancy which
allows a landlord to apply to the court
for a Possession Order on the ground of
persistent arrears. This will be compounded
with the introduction of direct payment of
benefits to tenants under Universal Credit.
The wellbeing of employees
With such high impact issues to be
managed, the wellbeing of employees
comes into sharp focus.
Any employee who faces daily difficult
ethical decisions could experience stress,
which will affect their performance and
personal wellbeing. To exacerbate the
problem, many housing providers employ
their own tenants within their workforces,
compounding the stresses on individuals
and the business.
The management of ethical dilemmas
and sound decision making is complex.
There is no guarantee that even the clearest
set of guidelines will yield simple solutions.
Advice and support
Identifying the issues and providing
appropriate support to all employees are
the starting points to effectively manage
the paradoxes which are in play.
The emerging picture will take different
forms with different employers. The
intelligent use of a range of expertise
will be needed, from diagnostics, through
to performance management, business,
team and individual support planning and
outcome measurement.
Every part of the business will be
affected, from the Board through to the
front line, all of whom have to navigate the
evolving landscape. New approaches will
be needed to support staff, including health
and wellbeing programmes, human resource
management and procedures and mediation.
The objective here is to support
employers and employees to manage
difficult situations with serious implications
like stress related legal challenges, or ethics
related accusations. A firm understanding
of employment law will be crucial to
protect both employers’ and employees’
best interests.
With our commitment to and
understanding of the housing sector, and
social housing providers, we can use the
expertise within our team to offer practical
and empathetic support through a tailored
activities which are relevant to each provider.
If you would like to explore the issues
raised here, we would be happy to
respond.
Patrick Harkness, e: p.harkness@
consultcapital.co.uk
Tel: 029 2047
4456, mobile: 07850 914229
Consult Capital, Capital Building
Tyndall Street, Cardiff
Tel: 0333 2409 778