Workers have little provision for unemployment

Fri 28 Nov 2008

UK workers have made little effort to protect themselves from the consequences of unemployment, new research has found.

According to the Post Office, 40 per cent have less than a month's salary saved.

Its study revealed most workers have a low awareness of the benefit system and have taken no real effort to plan for difficult times.

"It's very important that people find out what they would be entitled to and plan properly to cover their mortgage, bills, any debt repayments and other outgoings against the risk of losing an income," said head of protection Duncan-Caesar Gordon.

Almost half (48 per cent) of the UK workforce are concerned about the risk of redundancy and the average worker estimated they would need £300 per week just to get by, the research noted.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a National Employment Partnership, which he hoped would help to get those recently made unemployed back into work.

Despite the obvious worry caused by a period of economic difficulty, employment markets usually remain fluid, with positions regularly available for call centre workers and office jobs in Manchester.

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