Nearly one-fifth of UK employees – 5.5 million people – feel undervalued at work

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PRESS RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 2023

NEARLY ONE-FIFTH OF UK EMPLOYEES – 5.5 MILLION PEOPLE – FEEL UNDERVALUED AT WORK

  • 8-in-10 undervalued employees are looking to leave their current role
  • Over half claim their productivity increases when they feel valued
  • Almost 90% of workers feel more valued after receiving a gift card

A new report has found that almost a fifth of UK employees, around 5.5 million people, feel undervalued at work.

The Love2shop Employee Value Report is the second annual survey of UK workers commissioned by leading UK reward, incentive and gifting experts Love2shop.

This year it has revealed that of those who feel undervalued in the workplace, 8-in-10 are looking to leave their current role. Over a quarter, around 1.5 million workers, said they are actually willing to leave their current role without another job lined up – despite the rising cost of living

Julian Coghlan, Managing Director of Love2shop, said that the report’s findings were a warning to employers who are still not engaging with employees.

“Everyone has seen the impact of rising costs this year,” he said. “It’s a major concern that, even when times are tough, so many UK workers are so unhappy they would seriously consider leaving without a job to go to.

“Last year our report revealed a significant problem with employee value in the UK. While some employers have taken action since then to improve overall happiness, millions of workers still feel disengaged from the business they work for.

“This should be a wake-up call for UK businesses. The cost of recruiting new talent and training them to replace outgoing staff far outweighs the cost of implementing a reward and recognition structure that would improve employee happiness, loyalty and productivity.”

The Love2shop Employee Value Report feeds into a wider picture of employee happiness and value. According to the Workforce Institute for example, one-in-three workers would rather quit their job rather than voice concerns at work.

“Communication is critical,” said Julian. “Unfortunately it seems that there are still many workplaces where staff do not feel comfortable or confident in raising concerns. That can cause issues around health and safety, and it erodes people’s motivation and satisfaction in their job.

“Better communication and conversations in the workplace is a really cost effective way to improve value, as in many cases the only critical investment required is time.”

Employers are potentially facing problems down the line too. The number of employees looking for a new role rises amongst the younger demographic, with 87% of Gen Z actively pursuing a different job. Without a pipeline of young talent to replace outgoing, experienced workers, businesses could find themselves falling headfirst into a skills gap.

“Emerging strongly from a challenging economic period is a lot harder if you can’t retain talent,” said Julian. “But there are easy ways you can begin to improve employee happiness.”

When it comes to rewards, nearly 6 in 10 employees say that days off, flexible working hours and multi-retailer gift cards were the best ways for companies to reward employees.

Nearly 90% of UK employees said they would feel more valued if their boss surprised them with a multi-retailer gift card as a spontaneous gift. More than half (57%) of employees – almost 17.2 million people – claimed their productivity increases when they feel valued.

However, 47% of respondents reported they had never received spontaneous gifts from their employer. Long-term, this is impacting recruitment as over two thirds (67%) of UK employees surveyed said they check a company’s reward system, culture, employee happiness ratings and reviews before applying for a job.

And in a sign of the continuing impact of the rising cost of living, 34% of workers revealed if they were to receive a multi-retailer gift card from their company, they would spend it on the weekly shop – while 12% would use it to buy school essentials for their children.

Regionally, the report found workers in Liverpool feel more underappreciated than anywhere else in the UK, with over a quarter (27%) of those in the city region feeling undervalued in the workplace.

Workers in the North West felt broadly the same as those in Liverpool, with more than a fifth (21%) reporting feeling undervalued.

Elsewhere in England, Southampton scored the highest for employee value, with 61% of people scoring highly for feelings of appreciation at work.

“With food and fuel prices rising, mortgage rates increasing and energy costs remaining high, even small rewards can make a real difference in employee’s lives,” said Julian.

“They can also make a difference to business. Investing in people is a sound strategy for growth and at Love2shop, our expert team helps UK businesses build effective strategies to engage with employees and improve happiness and performance.”

To read the report, visit business.love2shop.co.uk/love2shop-employee-value-report-2023.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Survey data taken from a Censuswide poll of 2,000 employed UK adults in August 2023

About Love2shop

 Love2shop – part of the PayPoint Group – is the UK’s number one multi-retailer gifting provider. Its range of Love2shop Gift Cards, e-Gift Cards and Gift Vouchers offer consumers the choice to spend at more than 140 high-street and online retail partners.

As well as personal gifting, Love2shop products are widely used in customer and employee engagement and consumer incentive programmes to provide recognition and rewards that offer real value to the recipients.

Love2shop also provides holiday gift vouchers through Love2shop Holidays and single-retailer gift cards for some of the high street’s biggest names – from Marks and Spencer to John Lewis.

Love2shop Gift Cards are flexecash products regulated by the FCA. Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 [90001] for the issuing of electronic money.

Discover more: business.love2shop.co.uk

How gift cards are reducing pressure on the NHS

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PRESS RELEASE

AUGUST 2023

HOW GIFT CARDS ARE HELPING REDUCE PRESSURE ON THE NHS AS DEMAND FOR EFFECTIVE INCENTIVES ALMOST DOUBLES IN FIVE YEARS

  •  Dr Heather May Morgan says incentives “reduce pressure” on healthcare services
  • Volume of gift card orders by NHS trust accounts increased by 155% from 2020-22

Gift card incentives are helping reduce the pressure on the NHS as the number of healthcare trusts using them to incentivise patients to be healthier has doubled in the last five years.

Healthcare is experiencing a transformative trend as financial incentives flourish to complement the already well-established and growing demand for patient incentives in research settings – with both now a crucial aspect of actual healthcare provider conditions.

This shift has generated traction in recent years, with incentives successfully motivating patients to make positive changes in their health-related decisions and potentially reducing healthcare costs for providers.

According to latest data, the total spend by NHS trust accounts on gift cards has more than doubled, increasing by 155%, since 2020.

Meanwhile, figures show that in just five years the overall number of NHS Trusts using gift cards from Love2Shop, one of the UK’s leading providers, has almost doubled – from 88 Trusts in 2018 to 173 in 2023.

The trend is evidence that vouchers are emerging as a favoured alternative to cash rewards, as they provide a more dignified form of incentive for patients and aren’t perceived as something akin to welfare.

Health issues targeted through incentives include efforts to quit smoking, decrease alcohol consumption, and combat obesity.

According to experts, tailoring incentives to individual preferences is crucial in motivating healthier behaviours. By providing incentives that resonate with the patient’s preferences and circumstances, the motivation to pursue healthier behaviours is heightened.

An effective approach to implementing patient incentives is to utilise a tiered system. This often involves offering an initial reward to incentivise engagement, followed by top-up payments as patients achieve specified milestones.

Dr Heather May Morgan is Dean for Enterprise & Innovation and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen.

She has experience with patient incentives in healthcare after contributing to a National Institute for Health and Care Research study into the benefits of incentives for breastfeeding and smoking cessation in pregnancy.

Dr Morgan said: “There is evidence to show that patient incentives work in different ways for different people.

“Studies indicate incentives can successfully engage people to entertain and adopt certain healthy behaviours, while repeated rewards can help sustain them.

“These incentives work best when they are structured and part of a programme in which patients also have access to healthcare and additional support.

“When implemented correctly, the result is better health outcomes for patients and reduced pressure on healthcare services.

“That’s why we are seeing patient incentives, which are both widely accepted and provably effective in a range of contexts, increasingly being used in healthcare.”

Love2shop’s own portfolio of healthcare and NHS Trust clients extends throughout the UK and supports a broad range of incentivised programmes including smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, obesity support and reducing alcohol consumption.

Alex Speed, Head of Client Development at Love2shop said: “As a leading reward and recognition company, we have seen the volume of gift cards used by healthcare and NHS Trust clients as financial incentives almost double since 2018.

“Judging from the results for these incentivised programmes – which have been published in leading healthcare publications such as the British Medical Journal – we know the return on investment continues to prompt a year-on-year increase in demand for our Love2shop Gift Cards.

“We see firsthand how multi-retail gift cards allow healthcare providers to offer one product to a huge range of people and still satisfy each individual’s needs or interests.

“For instance, many recipients of a Love2shop Gift Card redeem it in a shop to treat themselves, but others might use them to re-stock food cupboards or buy essential items to help manage the challenging costs of living given the vast range of brands and shops they can access with our gift cards.

“These client collaborations allow us to support positive health behaviour change throughout the UK while expanding our market reach and strengthening our brand’s reputation. We’re dedicated to providing tailored gift card solutions that contribute to better health outcomes for all and foster lasting partnerships with healthcare clients.”

To find out more, visit: Love2shop in Healthcare | Love2shop

ENDS 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Love2shop

Love2shop – part of the PayPoint Group – is the UK’s number one multi-retailer gifting provider. Its range of Love2shop Gift Cards, e-Gift Cards and Gift Vouchers offer consumers the choice to spend at more than 140 high-street and online retail partners.

As well as personal gifting, Love2shop products are widely used in customer and employee engagement and consumer incentive programmes to provide recognition and rewards that offer real value to the recipients.

Love2shop also provides holiday gift vouchers through Love2shop Holidays and single-retailer gift cards for some of the high street’s biggest names – from Marks and Spencer to John Lewis.

Love2shop Gift Cards are flexecash products regulated by the FCA. Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 [90001] for the issuing of electronic money.

Discover more: https://www.highstreetvouchers.com

Love2shop – ranked a ‘Best Workplace for Women’ in prestigious 2023 list

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PRESS RELEASE

20 July 2023

LOVE2SHOP RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE ‘UK’S BEST WORKPLACES FOR WOMEN’ IN PRESTIGIOUS 2023 LIST

Leading gifting and engagement expert, Love2Shop, has been officially crowned one of the best places to work for women in the UK, according to the Great Place to Work List 2023 announced today.

The prestigious annual list, now in its sixth year, showcases the largest collection of Best Workplaces for Women that the UK has ever recognised. According to Great Place to Work, these “exceptional companies have redefined workplace culture, setting a new standard for gender equality and inclusion. From robust talent development programmes to fair pay and benefits, these workplaces prioritise the success and wellbeing of their female employees.”

With more than 250 employees, the gift card, customer loyalty and employee engagement specialist – and sister brand, Park Christmas Savings – is thrilled to be listed (#55 out of #89 in the UK’s ‘large organisations’ category).

Claire Jones, People and Integration Director at Love2shop, said: “To be recognised by a prestigious company like Great Place to Work for being one of the best places to work for women in the UK makes us all feel very proud.

“It means we are doing something right. And it means that we have generated a strong and positive workplace for women – where they are respected and empowered to develop as professionals, whether that’s because they want to advance in their careers or because they want to be, and do, their best in their day-to-day work.

“As the award is prompted by our own employees’ responses to annual surveys, it reflects authentic attitudes of the people in the company. And that’s particularly vindicating for everyone to know: together, we are creating and achieving great things!

As well as being the UK’s number one gift card provider, Love2Shop also works with businesses to create customer loyalty and employee engagement strategies using data to drive reward and recognition more effectively. While Park Christmas Savings is the leading – and longest-running – Christmas Savings Club in the UK; it has been going for over 55 years and more than three million families have saved for Christmas with ‘Park’.

The data behind the list of top UK businesses is collected from a survey of each company’s employees, measuring how staff feel about workplace culture. Love2shop was already ranked as one of the ‘Best Workplaces in the UK’ (#32) as part of the Great Place to Work engagement survey in April – and before that, as a ‘Best Workplace for Wellbeing’ listing (#42).

The confidential feedback was collected by Great Place to Work through a rigorous survey. The data was evaluated independently to conclude a ranking for each employer. Love2shop was placed 55 out of a total of 89 companies which secured an official ranking in the final list.

Employees provided insight into their experiences of trust and how employers helped them improve in order to reach their full potential as part of their organisation. Great Place to Work also looked at employees’ daily experiences of innovations, the company’s values and the effectiveness of their leaders to ensure a consistent experience across departments and seniority levels.

Visit https://business.love2shop.co.uk/ to learn more about how employee engagement can drive performance in your organisation. Or www.getpark.co.uk to find out more about the UK’s best-loved and longest-running Christmas Savings Club: Park Christmas Savings.

ENDS.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Love2shop

Love2shop – part of the PayPoint Group – is the UK’s number one multi-retailer gifting provider. Its range of Love2shop Gift Cards, e-Gift Cards and Gift Vouchers offer consumers the choice to spend at more than 140 high-street and online retail partners.

As well as personal gifting, Love2shop products are widely used in customer and employee engagement and consumer incentive programmes to provide recognition and rewards that offer real value to the recipients.

Love2shop also provides holiday gift vouchers through Love2shop Holidays and single-retailer gift cards for some of the high street’s biggest names – from Marks and Spencer to John Lewis.

Love2shop Gift Cards are flexecash products regulated by the FCA. Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 [90001] for the issuing of electronic money.

Discover more: https://www.highstreetvouchers.com

Will universities pay the price for student crisis? New cost of living report reveals shocking data 

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A shocking new report by Love2shop has found that the cost of living crisis is driving students into financial difficulty – and universities may soon pay the price.

You can download the full report for free here, but our research1 found that 57% of students – 1.6 million2 – were considering dropping-out of university as a result of rising living costs. If only 50% of those students go ahead and leave, universities will be facing lost revenue of around £40bn.

And it has already started. We polled 2,000 students across the UK and 68% said they knew someone who had already left university because of the cost of living.

“If this continues, we could see fewer students graduating and even more choosing not to continue into higher education,” said Love2shop Director of Business Development, Frank Creighton.

“The result could be a shortfall in critical areas like the NHS, where we may see fewer nurses qualify, and we could also see a brain drain in important sectors like advanced engineering, where students decide to study outside of the UK.”

The report also found that a further 55% – representing around 1.5 million students – responded to say they had used a food bank as they couldn’t afford to eat.

The figures are stark – 87% of students have skipped meals to save on food costs. And experts say the issue may even get worse, after recent research from economic consultancy London Economics found student loan reforms unveiled by government last year will only benefit the country’s best-paid graduates3.

The changes to the maintenance loan system mean graduates entering into lower and middle income jobs, such as nursing and teaching, face an increase in their total lifetime repayments of more than £30,000, according to the analysis.

Meanwhile, higher income graduates earning in excess of £51,000 a year will see their total repayments plunge by around £25,000, say London Economics’ experts, who have labelled the reforms as “deeply regressive”.

“It’s really worrying to see how many students are considering dropping out or have already left because of the devastating financial impact of the increased cost of living,” said Frank. “This should be a huge concern for universities.

“For many students this is their first time living independently away from home. They should be able to focus on their studies, not worry about skipping meals in order to pay their bills. This is also a potential problem for universities. Fewer students – or poor results due to the pressures students are under – will have a significant impact on university finances.

“It’s time to start looking at practical solutions across the board to help all students deal with these challenges.”

Despite all this, 64% of students responded to the survey saying they received no cost of living support from their university and only one-in-five (20%) say have been offered a financial incentive specifically linked to continuing their course.

Just 14% of students say they have received cost of living support from their university in the form of a voucher or gift card, yet 49% think universities could improve their support by doing so.

Love2shop already works with a number of universities to provide gift cards or contactless digital gift cards to offer students.

While the range of Love2shop physical and digital gift cards can be redeemed in more than one hundred high-street and online retailers, universities can limit the number available to ensure cost of living payments are only used with retail partners that specialise in essential items.

“This data indicates that while there is some support for students, they are still facing some severe challenges and difficult choices,” said Frank. “We need to consider a different way to support them that makes a real difference to students and is cost effective and secure for universities.

“Gift cards offer a practical solution. They allow academic institutions to support their students through these difficult times and ensure financial aid provided is spent on the intended necessities, be that food, clothing or textbooks. Our survey data shows students themselves would welcome this more secure, consistent approach to support.”

Download the full report now at www.appreciate.co.uk/love2shop-uk-student-cost-of-living-report-2023 or contact us on 0330 333 1201 or [email protected] to see how we can help your institution deliver a more effective emergency support programme.

 

Footnotes

1: Survey of 2,000 UK students conducted by Censuswide

2: Based on most recent Higher Education Statistics Agency data: in 2020/21 the UK had 2,862,620 students enrolled in university.

3: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/may/13/nurses-teachers-student-loan-reforms-biggest-squeeze

Student Living Cost Crisis as Love2shop Report Finds More Being Driven into Poverty

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A shocking new report by Love2shop has found that the cost of living crisis is driving students into financial difficulty – and universities may soon pay the price.

You can download the full report for free here, but our research1 found that 57% of students – 1.6 million2 – were considering dropping-out of university as a result of rising living costs. If only 50% of those students go ahead and leave, universities will be facing lost revenue of around £40bn.

And it has already started. We polled 2,000 students across the UK and 68% said they knew someone who had already left university because of the cost of living.

“If this continues, we could see fewer students graduating and even more choosing not to continue into higher education,” said Love2shop Director of Business Development, Frank Creighton.

“The result could be a shortfall in critical areas like the NHS, where we may see fewer nurses qualify, and we could also see a brain drain in important sectors like advanced engineering, where students decide to study outside of the UK.”

The report also found that a further 55% – representing around 1.5 million students – responded to say they had used a food bank as they couldn’t afford to eat.

The figures are stark – 87% of students have skipped meals to save on food costs. And experts say the issue may even get worse, after recent research from economic consultancy London Economics found student loan reforms unveiled by government last year will only benefit the country’s best-paid graduates3.

The changes to the maintenance loan system mean graduates entering into lower and middle income jobs, such as nursing and teaching, face an increase in their total lifetime repayments of more than £30,000, according to the analysis.

Meanwhile, higher income graduates earning in excess of £51,000 a year will see their total repayments plunge by around £25,000, say London Economics’ experts, who have labelled the reforms as “deeply regressive”.

“It’s really worrying to see how many students are considering dropping out or have already left because of the devastating financial impact of the increased cost of living,” said Frank. “This should be a huge concern for universities.

“For many students this is their first time living independently away from home. They should be able to focus on their studies, not worry about skipping meals in order to pay their bills. This is also a potential problem for universities. Fewer students – or poor results due to the pressures students are under – will have a significant impact on university finances.

“It’s time to start looking at practical solutions across the board to help all students deal with these challenges.”

Despite all this, 64% of students responded to the survey saying they received no cost of living support from their university and only one-in-five (20%) say have been offered a financial incentive specifically linked to continuing their course.

Just 14% of students say they have received cost of living support from their university in the form of a voucher or gift card, yet 49% think universities could improve their support by doing so.

Love2shop already works with a number of universities to provide gift cards or contactless digital gift cards to offer students.

While the range of Love2shop physical and digital gift cards can be redeemed in more than one hundred high-street and online retailers, universities can limit the number available to ensure cost of living payments are only used with retail partners that specialise in essential items.

“This data indicates that while there is some support for students, they are still facing some severe challenges and difficult choices,” said Frank. “We need to consider a different way to support them that makes a real difference to students and is cost effective and secure for universities.

“Gift cards offer a practical solution. They allow academic institutions to support their students through these difficult times and ensure financial aid provided is spent on the intended necessities, be that food, clothing or textbooks. Our survey data shows students themselves would welcome this more secure, consistent approach to support.”

Download the full report now at business.love2shop.co.uk/love2shop-uk-student-cost-of-living-report-2023 or contact us on 0330 333 1201 to see how we can help your institution deliver a more effective emergency support programme.

ENDS

Footnotes

1: Survey of 2,000 UK students conducted by Censuswide

2: Based on most recent Higher Education Statistics Agency data: in 2020/21 the UK had 2,862,620 students enrolled in university.

3: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/may/13/nurses-teachers-student-loan-reforms-biggest-squeeze

Love2shop crowned one of the UK’s best places to work in prestigious 2023 list

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PRESS RELEASE

APRIL 2023

 

LOVE2SHOP CROWNED ONE OF THE UK’S BEST PLACES TO WORK IN PRESTIGIOUS 2023 LIST

Leading gifting and engagement expert, Love2shop, has been officially crowned one of the best places to work in the UK, according to the Best Workplaces Awards 2023.

The prestigious annual list named the company as one of the best businesses to work for in the country. With more than 250 employees, the gift card, customer loyalty and employee engagement specialist is thrilled to be ranked this year.

Claire Jones, People and Integration Director at Love2shop, said: “We are all so incredibly proud to be recognised by Great Place to Work for being one of the best places to work in the UK.

“Love2shop is all about connecting with people and helping to bring joy to the moments that matter most and so, it means a lot to be recognised for successfully connecting with our own people. And for creating a fantastic culture that befits our great teams across the business.

“Pleasingly, it goes to show that our employees recognise that, as a company, we have created a really positive culture and a strong, healthy working relationship.

“By building a team of happy, engaged employees, we are also demonstrating that a positive culture of reward and recognition is the bedrock of a high-performing team.”

As well as being the UK’s number one gift card provider, Love2shop also works with businesses to create customer loyalty and employee engagement strategies using data to drive reward and recognition more effectively.

The data behind the list of top UK businesses is collected from a survey of each company’s own employees, measuring how staff feel about workplace culture. Previously, Love2shop has been ranked on the (unrelated) ‘Best Places to Work for Women’ list in 2021. This year, it has also been named one of Great Place to Work’s ‘Best Places to Work for Wellbeing in the UK’.

The confidential feedback was collected by Great Place to Work through a rigorous survey. The data was evaluated independently to conclude a ranking for each employer. Love2shop was placed 32nd out of a total of 87 companies which managed to get placed.

Employees provided insight into their experiences of trust and how employers helped them improve in order to reach their full potential as part of their organisation. Great Place to Work also looked at employees’ daily experiences of innovations, the company’s values and the effectiveness of their leaders to ensure a consistent experience across departments and seniority levels.

Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place to Work UK, said: “As the global authority on workplace culture, our mission at Great Place to Work has always been to build a better world by helping organisations become a great place to work for all.

“We strongly believe in the notion of ‘better for business, better for people, better for the world.”

Visit https://business.love2shop.co.uk/employee-recognition-platforms/ to learn more about how employee engagement can drive performance in your organisation.

ENDS.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Love2shop

Love2shop – part of the PayPoint Group – is the UK’s number one multi-retailer gifting provider. Its range of Love2shop Gift Cards, e-Gift Cards and Gift Vouchers offer consumers the choice to spend at more than 140 high-street and online retail partners.

As well as personal gifting, Love2shop products are widely used in customer and employee engagement and consumer incentive programmes to provide recognition and rewards that offer real value to the recipients.

Love2shop also provides holiday gift vouchers through Love2shop Holidays and single-retailer gift cards for some of the high street’s biggest names – from Marks and Spencer to John Lewis.

Love2shop Gift Cards are flexecash products regulated by the FCA. Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 [90001] for the issuing of electronic money.

Discover more: https://www.highstreetvouchers.com  

Aldi and B&M boosts Love2shop Essentials emergency support scheme for vulnerable

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  • UK local authorities, housing associations, and others, can offer emergency cost of living support to most vulnerable through Love2shop Essentials
  • The scheme, in partnership with PayPoint, helps people in financial crisis purchase food, clothing, electricals and other critical items via digital e-code
  • High street giants Aldi and B&M have now joined the Essentials scheme, helping recipients make their support go further

Families facing a financial crisis due to the rising cost of living may be eligible to receive Love2shop Essentials emergency support payments, which has now just added Aldi and B&M – helping their money go further.

Love2shop Essentials is a partnership between gift card experts Love2shop and digital payment specialists PayPoint. Designed for local authorities across the UK, Love2shop Essentials is an e-code that councils can use to give financial support to the most vulnerable in times of need.

After a successful pilot last August, the scheme has now expanded, adding discount giants Aldi and B&M to the list of more than 20 Love2shop Essentials partners – which includes Currys, Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco, Primark and Argos.

Jo Toolan, Client Services Director for PayPoint, said: “The Love2shop Essentials scheme is simple for both the local authority and people and families who receive support.

“If a resident’s fridge breaks unexpectedly for example, the council can set up the e-code to be used only with one of Love2shop Essentials’ high street electrical retail partners.

“However, if they need help buying food, the e-code can be allocated for use in any one of our partner supermarkets. With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to have a significant impact, this type of targeted, flexible support is more important than ever to provide immediate help to those in need.”

Codes can be used online or in-store – depending on the retailer – to purchase items in three core categories – food, clothing and electrical.

Local authorities order funds for specific amounts for a resident, which is then delivered to them as an e-code via SMS, email or in the post. Once the code is received by the resident, they simply go to the Love2shop website to activate the supplied e-code.

Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop, said: “Love2shop Essentials is an exceptionally practical and easy-to-use tool for local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales.

“Helping PayPoint to provide access to a broad range of UK retailers allows recipients of the funds to select their essential items from reliable brands, whether that’s food, clothing or crucial household electrical goods.

“Adding Aldi and B&M as partners gives people and families more choice in these critical need categories, helping ensure they have the support they need when times are tough.

“As a digital activation and redemption process, Love2shop Essentials is more secure than the cash equivalent and can be used online or in-store with most of its partner retailers.”

 

ABOUT LOVE2SHOP

Love2shop – part of the PayPoint Group – is the UK’s number one multi-retailer gifting provider. Its range of Love2shop Gift Cards, e-Gift Cards and Gift Vouchers offer consumers the choice to spend at more than 140 high-street and online retail partners.

As well as personal gifting, Love2shop products are widely used in customer and employee engagement and consumer incentive programmes to provide recognition and rewards that offer real value to the recipients.

Love2shop also provides holiday gift vouchers through Love2shop Holidays and single-retailer gift cards for some of the high street’s biggest names – from Marks and Spencer to John Lewis.

Love2shop Gift Cards are flexecash products regulated by the FCA. Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 [90001] for the issuing of electronic money.

Discover more: www.highstreetvouchers.com

 

ABOUT PAYPOINT GROUP

For tens of thousands of businesses and millions of consumers, we deliver innovative technology and services that make life a little easier.

The PayPoint Group serves a diverse range of organisations, from SME and convenience retailer partners to local authorities, multinational service providers and e-commerce brands. Our products are split across four core business divisions:

In Shopping, we enhance retailer propositions and customer experiences through EPoS services via PayPoint One, card payment technology, Counter Cash, ATMs and home delivery technology partnerships in over 60,000 SME and retailer partner locations across multiple sectors. Our retail network of over 28,000 convenience stores is larger than all the banks, supermarkets and Post Offices put together

In E-commerce, we deliver best-in-class customer journeys through Collect+, a tech-based delivery solution that allows parcels to be sent, picked up and dropped off at thousands of local stores

In Payments and Banking, PayPoint helps companies, and their customers make and receive payments quickly and conveniently. This includes PayPoint’s digital payments platform, MultiPay, and a digital voucher offering that provides vital consumer access to cash across our extensive retail network. PayPoint also supports its eMoney clients with purchase and redemption of eMoney across its retail network

In Love2shop, we provide gifting, employee engagement, consumer incentive and prepaid savings solutions to thousands of consumers and businesses. Love2shop is the UK’s number one multi-retailer gifting provider, offering consumers the choice to spend at more than 140 high-street and online retail partners. Park Christmas Savings is the UK’s biggest Christmas savings club, helping over 350,000 families manage the cost of Christmas, by offering a huge range of gift cards and vouchers from some of the biggest high street names.

Together, these solutions enable The PayPoint Group to create long-term value for all stakeholders, including customers, communities and the world we live in.

Discover more: www.paypoint.com

 

Press Release

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NEW RELEASE: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Now doubled: the number of HR professionals predicting business performance will plummet this year

Three in every four HR decision-makers say they are now having to make tough decisions on people, pay and rewards in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis

The number of HR decision-makers (HRDMs) expecting business conditions to get worse this year has now DOUBLED, new insights today reveal.

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis, soaring inflation, rising energy bills and challenging business conditions have forced thousands of UK HRDMs to make tough choices on employees’ futures, and to be more creative around staff pay and rewards.

The new insights, commissioned by Love2shop, the UK’s leading provider of rewards and recognition solutions for businesses, in collaboration with Republic of Media and Panelbase*, show the number of HRDMs anticipating a decline in business performance doubled to 6% in November 2022, from just 3% in May 2022.

The research also revealed that three in four HRDMs are now having to find ways to navigate a series of challenges in their organisations, to help manage costs and find new methods of recognising and retain staff.

More than one in five HRDMs say they are having to let go of employees (21%) and many more are looking for ways to ramp up support for existing employees amid shrinking budgets. They are trying to retain talent through higher salaries, bonus payments, enhanced rewards and recognition, and access to new discount platforms and schemes.

Top ways HRDMs are providing support for employees during the cost-of-living crisis**:

  • Salary increases (45%)
  • Increased staff rewards (39%)
  • Improved benefits (39%)
  • One-off payments (35%)
  • Access to discount platforms/schemes (23%)

“These new insights show the cost-of-living crisis is hitting many businesses hard – for some it’s as bad as it was following the Covid pandemic. However, HRDMs are facing this challenge head-on and finding new and innovative ways to support their employees,” said Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop.

“It’s a challenging market for HRDMs prompting many to think more innovatively and creatively by exploring alternatives to inflation-linked pay rises, through better rewards and recognition platforms, discount schemes for staff to offset squeezed household budgets, and enhanced benefit packages.”

Love2shop, the UK’s leading employee and customer engagement company and the home of Love2shop, is currently working with hundreds of UK HRDMs and Sales and Marketing leaders to explore new and innovative solutions to reward and recognise employees.

It works with HRDMs in a range of sectors, including professional services; financial, insurance and pension companies; wholesale, retail and logistics; health and social care; education; and the automotive sector.

Its wide range of Love2shop products offers a choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees.

It is also helping many HRDMs to integrate a new Employee Discount Card Scheme into their organisations, with the new Everyday Benefits Card helping staff save 7.5% on their day-to-day spending at more than 90+ leading retailers, including supermarkets to help with everyday essentials.

And through its intelligent, award-winning Love2shop Engagement Platform, Love2shop is enabling HRDMs to plan and launch incentives, engagement and employee recognition and reward programs with minimal effort.

Laura Maguire, Head of Research and Insight at Republic of Media, said: “These insights prove that in many ways, HRDMs are on the front line of the cost-of-living crisis, tasked with finding ways to attract and retain talent in a challenging economic environment.

“Building on these statistics and this piece of work, we’re looking forward to seeing the impact of the Employee Discount Card Scheme and Love2shop Engagement Platform when we re-run this research with Love2shop later in the year.”

ENDS

Editor’s Notes:

*The Love2shop B2B Insight study was commissioned by Love2shop and carried out by independent media agency, Republic of Media and Panelbase, a UK online research community. It set out to shed light on the dynamics of the gift card market in the B2B setting.
** Multiple choice answer-options, results exceed 100%

About Love2shop

Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.

With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement.

Love2shop is  home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.  Read more here: appreciate.co.uk

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Press Release

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PRESS RELEASE

October 2022

EMPLOYERS GIVEN COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO SUPPORT STAFF WITH DISCOUNT SCHEME ON EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS 

  • 10 million UK workers feel undervalued at work as they struggle to cope with inflation 
  • Employers want to support staff to retain and motivate them, but face their own economic challenges
  • ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ is cost-effective way to reward staff with high-street discounts without breaking the bank

Businesses are facing a significant challenge this winter – how to retain and motivate key, skilled staff to increase productivity and offer support as everyone feels the cost of living crisis bite.

Employees who are worried about bills or feel undervalued cannot give their best in the workplace, but businesses too are facing challenges – as bills rise and spending falls, they also need to carefully manage the cost of giving.

According to the recent Love2shop Employee Value Report, almost 10 million workers in the UK feel undervalued, with 79% already looking to leave their current employer for a new role.

However, with the right reward and recognition strategy in place, 84% of UK employees said their loyalty to a company would increase.

But recognising employees to help them feel valued doesn’t have to be expensive, particularly at a time when businesses are facing rising energy bills, higher commercial rent, falling consumer spending and the impact of inflation.

So, what is the ‘cost of giving’ for a business wanting to support  employees during this pressurised time while also needing to keep an eye on expenditure?

The ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ is a pre-paid discount card that employers can buy for a small fee and hand to their employees as a new benefit. By giving staff the ability to pre-load funds at a discount onto their Everyday Benefits Card they help them save at more than 90 popular retailers including Marks & Spencer, Argos, Iceland, Boots and Currys. The card also gives access to exclusive giftcard and e-code discounts. It’s a cost-effective way for employers to make a real difference to their staff.

Created by the team behind Love2shop gift cards, the ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ allows you to give tax-free gifts to employees in addition to ongoing discounts. For example, as a business you can offer employees a gift up to the value of £50 without any tax implications thanks to HMRC’s annual tax allowances.

A company will decide on the individual spend, whether that’s more or less than the £50 tax-free maximum, but crucially once the recipient’s balance has been spent, employees can re-load the card themselves to save on supermarket gift cards, high street spending and online purchases.

How does it work? As a pre-paid discount card, funds added receive an instant discount of 7.5% – so for every £100 someone adds to the card, they only pay £92.50. This can be used in-store in more than 90 Love2shop retailers or to purchase e-codes online for a range of high-street partners in retail and meals out. Card loads can also be exchanged for a pre-paid virtual Mastercard which can be used for online purchases with even more retailers (fees may apply).

Employees with an Everyday Benefits Card also receive access to exclusive discounts, ranging from 4% on gift card loads with selected leading supermarkets up to 50% at some of the UK’s most popular attractions such as Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds, Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor and even holiday vouchers.

“The current economic situation in the UK means that everyone, entrepreneurs, businesses, individual employees and their families are trying to manage a particularly challenging economic climate,” said Frank Creighton, Director for Business Development at Love2shop.

“For employers, there is a complex challenge. They want to help their workers through a tough time, to reduce stress and allow them to focus on their work. They also know that if they lose good staff, they will lose the key skills they need to successfully recover when the economy improves – and the cost of recruiting is expensive.

“But they are weighing that up against a backdrop of increased costs, reduced income and the fact their businesses are also facing a battle.

“This is where the Everyday Benefits Card can help. With minimal cost you can reward your employees with a discount card that will help them manage their household finances.

“As an employer you can choose if, and when, to add funds to the card.  You may want to use a top-up as a reward for good performance, to recognise milestones like long service or simply as a random act of kindness. But importantly employees can add funds to their own cards and continue to claim discounts for as long as they like, at no cost to you, but feeling positive about their employer.”

To learn more about how Everyday Benefits could help your business recruit and retain key employees view more details on Love2shop’s Employee Discounts Card Scheme

The Everyday Benefits Card is a Flexecash product.

Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues the Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. (FRN: 900016)  

ENDS

Media enquiries

Alec Doyle, Senior PR Executive:  [email protected] 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Everyday Benefits Card

With the Everyday Benefits Card from Love2shop, employers provide their employees a card to load funds onto at a 7.5% discount.

They are then free to spend on gift cards or e-codes from more than 90 high street stores and gain access to exclusive discounts including:

  • 4% discount on supermarket gift card loads – top-up gift cards for selected leading supermarkets at a reduced rate.
  • Love2shop Holidays – provides access to a concierge holiday booking service.
  • Up to 20% off the cost of gift cards – perfect for one-off larger purchases such as TV’s, gifts or furniture.
  • Online spending – employees can purchase a virtual prepaid card and spend on the websites of over 50 leading retailers.
  • Up to 50% off pre-booked entrance tickets for leading attractions.
  • An exclusive range of reduced-cost branded home appliances.

About Love2shop

Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.

With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement.

Love2shop is a trading name of Park Retail Ltd, an FC Agent of Park Card Services. Park Retail Ltd is home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.

Read more here: appreciate.co.uk

The Love2shop Employee Value Report Press Release

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ONE-THIRD OF ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE UK – A STAGGERING 10 MILLION PEOPLE – FEEL UNDERVALUED AT WORK

• Eight in ten undervalued employees are looking for a new job elsewhere

• Over half of employees say productivity increases when they feel appreciated

• Rewards including gift cards would help workers feel more valued

• National study by leading multi-retail redemption provider Love2shop

One-third of all employees in the UK – almost 10 million people – feel undervalued at work, according to new national research revealed today.  

The ‘Love2shop Report’ commissioned by Love2shop, was designed to lay bare the scale of workplace happiness in 2022.  

It reveals the true value of employee rewards, with three-quarters of people (75%) saying companies who gift staff regularly are likely to attract a better calibre of employee, and 52% saying productivity increases when they feel valued by their employer. 

The report also found 41% of those who feel undervalued believe regular rewards by their employer would give them a greater sense of value, with the same number saying gift vouchers from their employer throughout the year would make them feel more appreciated. 

Nearly four-fifths (79%) of undervalued employees are looking for a job elsewhere, with that figure increasing to nine out of ten (90%) among the youngest demographic aged 18-24. 

The Love2shop Report found UK companies spontaneously gift employees an average of just 1.3 times a year, despite respondents reporting this number should rise to 2.3 times a year for employers to make staff feel valued.  

There is also a gender divide when it comes to workplace gift giving, with men receiving an average of 1.5 gifts a year compared to women receiving 1.2, the research found. 

Elsewhere, nearly half the report’s respondents (46%) have never received a spontaneous gift from their employer, while more than a third (36%) say their employer never, or hardly ever, acknowledges their work or actions. 

Shockingly, just 12% of employees strongly agree that their employers are generous. 

When it comes to a professional breakdown of happiness in the workplace, employees in publishing and journalism reported feeling the least valued at work, followed by those in the performing arts, then the environment and agriculture sectors.  

At the other end of the scale, property and construction, insurance and pensions, and law were the top three professions when asked about feeling valued at work. 

People in law enforcement and community reported receiving the fewest spontaneous gifts from their employer per year, at just 0.3, while those in business, consulting and management came top, with 2.4 per year. 

In terms of a geographical breakdown, workers in London and Northern Ireland feel the least appreciated, with an average value rating of five  out of 10 closely followed by those the East Midlands (5.5). Employees in the South West feel most valued (6.5), ahead of people in the West Midlands (6.1) and the North West (5.9). 

Elsewhere, a whopping 92% of workers who feel undervalued in the capital are currently looking for a new job, compared to only 42% of the same people in Yorkshire and the Humber. 

When it comes to rewards, six out of 10 employees say that days off, flexible working and gifting multi-retailer gift cards are the best ways of showing appreciation.  

If they were to receive a multi-retailer gift card, a staggering 89% would spend it on food, drink, or clothing – a survey result that experts attribute to the ongoing cost of living crisis – with 30% of them saying they would spend the voucher on their weekly shop. 

Asked about the value of employee rewards, over half of people (57%) say bonuses and regular rewards contribute to a feeling of being valued in the workplace, while 86% would feel valued at work if they received a surprise multi-retailer gift card or gift voucher worth £150, with only 7% saying it would not help them to feel valued. 

Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop, said: “The extent to which UK workers feel undervalued and under-appreciated is alarming.  

“The fact that one-third of staff feel undervalued should be a massive wake-up call for UK business, particularly in light of the report, which found almost half (49%) of people would feel a heightened sense of loyalty to their employer if they felt valued by them. 

“How undervalued employees are resolving this situation poses even greater concern. Our report’s data indicates that many will continue to vote with their feet by finding a business that does appreciate them. 

“This ongoing nationally recognised trend, now known as the ‘Great Resignation’, is costing companies a huge amount of unexpected expenditure in recruitment, training and time and that’s why it’s so important for more businesses to start making staff feel appreciated – by changing their attitude towards rewards. 

“We do understand it isn’t always easy for employers to know when to reward their employees – or by how much. That’s why we’ve compiled the Appreciate Report, which offers valuable insight when it comes to making staff feel valued while maintaining and increasing productivity levels.”  

To read the report, visit: https://business.love2shop.co.uk/appreciate-employee-value-report-2022/

Media enquiries to Alec Doyle, Senior PR Executive on: [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Survey data taken from a poll of 2,000 employed UK adults in August 2022 

About Love2shop   

Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.  

With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement. 

Love2shop Business is part of Paypoint, home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.   

Read more here: business.love2shop.co.uk

flexecash is the prepaid card platform that issues flexecash Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. FRN: 900016. Love2shop Cards are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such we may need to complete an electronic identity check.