The first working Monday of the year after the Christmas break, Divorce Day, is traditionally when lawyers see their biggest surge in divorce enquiries.
Whilst they increase at this time of year, the sad fact is that divorces do occur all year round.
Employers, therefore, need to ensure they have adequate support available all year round to help make things easier when needed.
Divorces are not only stressful – both emotionally and financially, but can also take many months to complete, meaning it can take quite a toll on those involved for an indefinite period of time.
Employee support can come in more ways than one
Divorce is life-changing and while it is a very personal matter, there are a range of ways that employers can help minimise some of the impact. Many employee assistance programmes offer 24/7 access to a range of services including mental wellbeing, legal concerns, financial support and guidance, so it is vital that these are clearly signposted and easy to access. It is worthwhile to understand what your group protection providers offer as standard and how these can be leveraged to support affected individuals.
Minimise external stresses
When an individual is going through a divorce, it is important to try to minimise other day-to-day stresses. Regularly reviewing their workload and regular 121s can help identify any concerns early on. Signposting ways to support their physical wellbeing can also be helpful to help to boost energy.
Encouraging individuals to take care of their own health is important too. Many employee benefits programmes include access to medical professionals. MetLife UK, for example, has recently partnered with HealthHero to ensure employees with MetLife group protection, and their families, can access a virtual GP service 24/7 with unlimited consultations.
Help employees adapt existing plans
With so much change, it can be easy to forget vital admin and changes to future plans, such as wills and even funeral plans. While many will avoid talking about death at all costs, it is key that estate plans and affairs are up to date and in order. MetLife has exclusively partnered with Everest Funeral Concierge in the UK to offer 24/7 support and assistance for funeral planning, along with a suite of online planning tools and a free-will writing service. Wills and trust documentation can often be overlooked, so helping to update these is key to ensuring wishes are met.
Divorces are difficult for all parties involved and while employees may not wish to discuss what they are going through openly, employees must ensure that there are clear policies in place to ensure support is clearly and regularly signposted so it can be accessed when it’s needed.
What about pensions?
For many tackling the sensitive issue of divorce, financial settlements can be especially difficult, and within that pensions are often overlooked.
James Jones-Tinsley, Self-Invested Pensions Technical Specialist at consultancy Barnett Waddingham, offers three things for anyone concerned about their pension to think about:
- Don’t let pensions sit in your blind spot:The crucial overriding message in any financial settlement on divorce is not to ignore the pensions that each of the couple have accumulated during their lifetimes (in addition to their state pensions). Depending upon what type(s) of pension the divorcing couple have, and how long they have contributed to them, the combined value of their pensions could represent their largest asset – even more so than the value of their home and its contents.
- Spend time making sure all of the paperwork for your pensions is in order: It is important to obtain full information about each of the divorcing couple’s pensions, as early on as possible during the financial disclosure and negotiation process. The sharing of pensions on divorce has been available for over twenty years, despite each pension typically being held in the sole names of the divorcing couple. For example, where one of the couple has a ‘defined benefit’ pension (sometimes referred to as a ‘final salary’ or ‘CARE’ scheme), it may – or may not – be possible for their ex-spouse to become a ‘pension credit’ member of that scheme, as part of the pension sharing process.
- Lean on the experts: The divorcing couple should consider appointing an independent financial adviser (IFA), as well as divorce lawyers, as early on in the disclosure and negotiation process as possible. In particular, those IFA’s who hold the “Resolution Accreditation” means that they understand how to calculate and separate couples’ finances, as well as the softer skills of negotiation, which is vital in achieving a “good” divorce outcome. In addition, they are all pensions specialists. The IFA would work in conjunction with the lawyers to provide advice on all aspects of financial planning, including pensions, mortgages and protection.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
