Employees are calling on their employers to help them cope with spiking energy bills, according to new analysis. Research from Zest finds that at least two-in-five staff say their organisation should offer financial support to this end – though this is only the case in a quarter of cases.
With the fallout of the US’ chaotic intervention in Iran still unclear, and the Strait of Hormuz either remaining closed, or coming with a £2 million premium per ship, global oil prices look set to soar in the coming months. Predictions from energy consultancy expert Cornwall Insight suggest bills for gas and electricity could jump by £332 in July alone.
Amid this – and the further inflation households anticipate from the related costs this will incur in other essential products – UK workers are turning to their employers for support. According to a newly released study from employee benefits technology provider Zest, 49% of staff in Britain are concerned by escalating energy bills – while 41% have called on more financial support from their employers to manage those spikes.
If anything, those numbers may be significantly higher now. The polling upon which the research hinges was carried out by Opinium in December 2025 – surveying 2,000 adults as to whether they felt their workplace benefits package was accurate.
And while many might have anticipated the start to a new year would bring a new wave of destabilising and dangerous international policies from the US’ incumbent regime, they may still not have expected it to take on this specific form. After all, after the initial strikes on Iran turned into a prolonged conflict, during which it became clear the nation’s own regime was not about to simply lie down in something it regarded as an existential struggle, US sources also admitted that they had entered into the war having failed to weigh up its impact on the Strait of Hormuz – a key route for shipments of oil from across the Middle East.
Now, it is more than likely that even more employees regard energy support as a key part of their benefit packages – which many already regarded as sub-standard. As per the initial research, 58% of employees said their workplace benefits package was inadequate, while 70% would leave their job if another company offered them better benefits. In that research group, Zest found that employer contributions to energy costs was already one of the most in-demand workplace benefits on offer – however, just 27% of workers actually received it.
Commenting on the findings, Matt Russell, CEO of Zest, remarked, “As energy prices soar many households are approaching a financial breaking point. Employers can ease some of the pressure by offering greater financial support to their employees to manage rising costs of energy bills or consumer goods.
How likely that is to manifest, simply out of the goodness of employers’ hearts, remains to be seen. After all, in 2022 – while Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine was blamed for price-hikes to energy, which purportedly drove a major cost-of-living crisis – most bosses opted not to keep pace with inflation, leaving many households significantly worse off.
There is, of course, always the option for employers to try and offer other options to help offset the impacts of higher energy bills. As they attempt to preserve wider profit margins, these tend to be the most attractive options to bosses.
Russell added, “Businesses should be looking for alternative solutions to maintain morale and support the financial wellbeing of employees. Employers who are unable to do this risk losing talent, which impacts their competitive edge and ultimately commercial performance. Leveraging benefits technology platforms allows employers to offer personalised packages and communicate clearly what’s on offer to drive engagement with benefits and value for money.”
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