Seasonal financial stress
Supporting your people through seasonal financial stress: a guide for HR leaders
Financial stress doesn’t follow a fixed schedule — unexpected life events like illness, urgent home repairs or a financial scam can happen at any time — but there are certain times of the year when many of us feel money worries are heightened.
For HR professionals, recognising these tougher periods helps to ensure that employees know what support is available — and feel comfortable accessing it — when they need it most. It also enables HR teams to plan timely, effective campaigns and boost engagement with the workplace benefits they have put in place.
In this guide, we explore the most common seasonal points for money stress and how your organisation can take practical steps to support your teams.
Summer holidays: spending pressure and childcare challenges
As all parents and guardians know, summer brings a spending spike for holidays, childcare, and keeping children entertained. Households will be juggling time off, feeling pressure to overspend on days out, and facing extra care costs. There’s also the pressure to match social expectations around holidays and travel.
How HR can support:
Share tips on budgeting for summer costs in internal newsletters or wellbeing communications
Create or curate a guide to free/low-cost local events (family-friendly days out, free museums, outdoor cinema, etc.) and include any employee discount codes for travel or attractions
Highlight any support you already offer (e.g. holiday clubs, childcare vouchers, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), salary advance schemes, reward and discount platforms for groceries, travel or cinema)
Host a summer-themed ‘Lunch & Learn’ where colleagues can share money-saving hacks, free activities, or budgeting tips — or run it as a friendly internal competition.
Set up a dedicated Slack or Teams channel for sharing free events, discounts, and budgeting inspiration — encourage peer-to-peer support.
Normalise money conversations during the summer period. Include financial wellbeing in broader wellbeing comms — especially as many employees may be quietly struggling post-holiday.
If workload eases a little in your industry over the summer, or many people are out of the office, use these quieter summer months to train members of your team to become Money First Aiders. It’s a strategic time to build internal capability without disrupting peak workloads.
2. Back-to-school: hidden costs and emotional strain
The return to school brings a wave of expenses: uniforms, supplies, technology, transport, and extracurricular activities. It’s also an emotionally loaded time for working parents and guardians navigating transitions or new routines. All at the same time as recovering from an expensive summer holiday!
How HR can support:
Acknowledge the financial strain in your communications. Leading with empathy can go a long way.
Share employer benefits available that may help, like discounts & rewards, and clearly explain how people can access them.
Ensure managers are aware that back-to-school can be a pressure point, and encourage flexibility where possible.
Signpost to helpful tools like local council support with uniforms or school meals or charities offering grants for education-related costs (e.g. Turn2Us, Buttle UK)
Run a financial wellbeing webinar on budgeting support or how to cope with rising costs
Re-introduce wellbeing champions, Money First Aiders or Mental Health First Aiders, so employees know they have trained colleagues to talk to
If available, remind staff of flexible pay platforms or earned wage access. Clearly explain how it works and when it’s appropriate.
3. Christmas, winter & New Year: overspending and rising bills
For many employees, the festive period is financially overwhelming. From gift buying and travel to heating costs and rising winter bills, December and January are some of the hardest months to manage.
How HR can support:
Promote early planning, budgeting, and internal financial wellbeing tools from autumn onwards.
Share resources such as the MoneyHelper Bill Prioritiser, local food bank info, help with household bills, or workplace hardship schemes.
Re-introduce wellbeing champions, Money First Aiders or Mental Health First Aiders, so employees know they have trained colleagues to talk to
Again, if available, remind staff of flexible pay platforms, workplace loans or earned wage access. Clearly explain how it works and when it’s appropriate.
If available, share information on workplace savings schemes so employees can proactively start planning for the year ahead.
Survey staff or run a short pulse check on financial wellbeing. Use anonymous feedback to understand needs and shape future support for the year ahead
Read our blogs on not-so.festive challenges and how employers can help here and here.
4. Awful April
‘Awful April’ refers to the financial pressure many people feel as the new tax year begins. It’s the moment when various cost increases kick in, affecting everything from take-home pay to household bills. For those already managing tight budgets, it can feel like a financial storm.
It’s a good time to remind people of the workplace support available, and encourage them to speak to Wellbeing Champions, Mental Health First Aiders or Money First Aiders, who can signpost them to support relating to specific cost increases they may be facing.
We wrote a detailed blog on how employers can support employees through Awful April here.
5. Don’t Forget Organisation-Specific Seasonality
While there are well-known national pinch points like summer holidays and Christmas, your organisation or sector may have its own seasonal financial stress patterns. It’s worth digging into your internal data to spot them.
For example, look at trends in:
Salary advance or workplace loan usage
EAP uptake (especially for financial or emotional support)
Absenteeism or productivity dips linked to financial stress
Engagement with financial wellbeing tools or intranet resources
You might find that certain months — perhaps after annual bonus payouts, pay reviews, or busy project periods — consistently show higher demand for support.
Reviewing internal surveys, HR analytics, or benefits platform data can help you pinpoint these hidden stress points. With that insight, you can time your financial wellbeing communications, training or resources to have the biggest impact, and make your support feel even more relevant and proactive.
Summary
Financial stress can show up at any time, but for many employees, there are predictable points in the year when pressure peaks. From the cost of summer holidays and back-to-school expenses to festive overspending and tax-year changes, HR teams have a clear opportunity to plan support that really lands when people need it most.
By combining awareness of national seasonal trends with insights from your own organisation’s data, you can deliver timely, relevant financial wellbeing support that helps reduce stress, improve engagement, and build a more resilient workforce.
Want help getting started?
Download our free Money First Aid Financial Wellbeing Calendar: a practical planning tool to help you map out key pressure points, schedule support activities, and stay one step ahead all year round.
