Ukraine crisis: Funding Circle urges businesses to support affected staff
Funding Circle has called on businesses to offer extra support for employees with ties to Ukraine.
The business finance provider, which left the peer-to-peer lending space last month, said companies should offer extra support to employees affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such as Employee Assistance Programmes, which are employer-paid schemes that give staff counselling.
The suggestion came in a blog on the platform’s website that described how the war in Ukraine is affecting small businesses.
It suggested that managers could look to adjust their working policies such as deadlines and working hours and be flexible with unpaid, sickness and paid special leave to offer support to those that need it.
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Funding Circle said supply chains from Ukraine and Russia are expected to be impacted and the war may lead to energy prices rising further.
It urged firms should think carefully about the impact of continuing to work with Russian companies.
“For businesses that work with Russian companies, the conflict also brings a range of reputational risks to consider,” Funding Circle said.
“Continuing to work with Russian companies could lead to backlash from consumers and clients, so UK businesses should think carefully about the goods and services they receive from Russian businesses, and whether they can get these from elsewhere.”
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