The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) introduced a London rental deposit loan scheme for its employees in February 2015 in order to help staff with the cost of housing in the capital. The organisation implemented the scheme, which was pioneered by housing and homelessness charity Shelter, after its 2014 London business survey, published in September 2014, found that just under two-thirds (61%) of respondents cited rising housing costs and lack of availability of housing in London as a barrier to recruiting entry-level staff.
The tenancy deposit scheme works in a similar manner to season ticket loans; an interest-free loan is provided to staff to pay for their deposit on a rented home and repayments are then deducted from the employee’s salary. The CBI communicated the scheme to its employees through a range of channels, including its in-house newsletter and benefits booklet, which is distributed to new starters as part of their induction process and is also available to existing members of staff.
The CBI employs around 210 staff in the UK, some 160 of which are based in London. The organisation has seen approximately 10% of its London-based employees take up the rental deposit loan scheme.
Ben Holt, head of HR at the CBI, says: “Given the mix of different circumstances and employees at different stages of their lives, I think that’s a pretty good take-up rate. Those that have taken it up have said what a useful benefit it is to have. It takes a little bit of stress out of the moving process.”