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UK lags behind in employee business expenses, research shows

Wednesday 20 January 2021 13:45 CET | News

Nearly a third of UK businesses expect employees to pay for business purchases leading to greater financial stress and loss of company trust, as research by fintech Pleo shows.

UK falls behind European businesses in expenses, as 32% of UK employees are expected to pay for business purchases with their own money vs just 7% in Germany and 10% in Spain, for example. The results are based on a YouGov survey of 3000 business professionals across Europe - including 1024 in the UK - that reveal how legacy expense processes are impacting employees’ working lives.

Just 22% of UK businesses trust employees with a company credit card, while only 18% currently have digitised expense management processes. Youngest employees are hit the hardest, with 14% of 18–24-year-olds saying that outdated expenses processes have led to them changing jobs.

Key findings, in short, from the survey include:

  • Employees paying out of pocket -  the most common form of payment for business expenses in the UK was employee finances (32%) rising to 38% for businesses with 1000+ employees;

  • Expenses cause stress for the employees - nearly a third (30%) of people surveyed reported having experienced financial loss or stress due to their expense processes;

  • Employees aren't trusted - only 22% of UK businesses said they would trust their employees with a company credit card with a set limit;

  • A reluctance to adapt - despite 40% of UK businesses wanting greater transparency when managing their expenses, just 33% are willing to change their current processes.


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Keywords: UK, research, payments , business purchases, company card, digital payments
Categories: Banking & Fintech
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Countries: United Kingdom
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Banking & Fintech






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