The January payslip problem

For plenty of people, the festive season doesn’t end when the decorations come down. It carries on into the January payslip, and sometimes well past Easter.

Research uncovered that over half (55%) of people are in debt in the New Year after Christmas spending. 3 in 10 thought it’d take them more than a month to financially recover from Christmas 2025.

Festive spending is a January payslip problem, and HR is well placed to help do something about it.

Money worries don’t switch off at 5pm: 67% of employees say money worries impact their productivity at work, and that’s an increase from 38% last year. When people are stretched, it shows up in concentration, absence and how connected they feel to their team.

December adds to the pressure: more to buy, more to organise and a steady stream of reminders that you should be doing more. For anyone already managing debt, loneliness or family tension, it can make the hardest things harder.

For workplaces, offering support to ease the festive pressures into the new year can make a real difference to employees – and it doesn’t need to be complex.

The silence around money is part of the problem, because people rarely ask for help with something they’re embarrassed about.

Practical financial education can help break it. Think webinars, budgeting templates, goal-setting guides and clear signposting to independent financial advice. Keep it practical rather than preachy, so it’s useful in five minutes rather than feeling like a maths lesson.

When retail credit is the only way to cover a big festive spend, the cost often lingers into the new year. Over 1 in 10 transfer their debt to a zero-balance credit card to try avoid interest.

Salary sacrifice gives employees another option. With Perkbox’s Home and Electronics benefit, they can choose from thousands of products, from toys and tech to kitchenware, and spread the cost through payroll reductions. There are no credit checks or upfront costs, so it’s easier to manage than a lump sum on a card. 

An end-of-year bonus is a clear sign of appreciation, and for some people it’s a much-needed boost at a tough time of year. But it isn’t always possible, and in many public sector organisations it isn’t an option at all.

There are other ways to show effort counts. Reward points let people spend on something they’ll really use, whether that’s a treat or something practical. Recognition also carries more weight when it comes from someone they work with every day. Giving managers their own reward pot means they can say thank you in the moment, with a message that shows some thought.

A few per cent off the weekly shop might not sound like much. Spelled out, it looks very different. A household spending £80 a week on the food shop at Tesco every week will have saved around £166 by the end of the year – the equivalent of two weeks’ free shopping, or a bumper festive food shop.

Employees can often stack Perks discounts on top of seasonal offers, so it’s worth showing your people how.

Here’s an example: someone’s buying the Eufy robot vacuum cleaner at Argos in the Black Friday sale, reducing the price from £579 to £499. With Perks, they could save up to 6% on top, bringing it down to £469 – a total saving of £110 vs £80 without Perkbox.

Some people need more than a discount. An Employee Assistance Programme gives confidential access to a 24/7 helpline, counselling and financial guidance, while an Online GP means they don’t have to wait weeks for an appointment.

You don’t need to offer everything. But the right support at the right moment can make a difference that lasts well beyond the festive season.

Perkbox helps organisations bring employee wellbeing, benefits and engagement together in a single, easy-to-use app, so support is there when people need it. Want to see how it could work for your teams? Find out more.