Financial Health and Safety at Work - Beware of the Dave!

I have visited many places of work and it is very common to wear some form of protective clothing.  A hi-viz vest, a hardhat, a gown, a facemask, hairnet, goggles - you name it.   It is also important to know which areas are out-of-bounds and to know what to do in an emergency.

Good employers have got this nailed.   They do not see health and safety at work as "political correctness gone mad".   It's important because the safety of their people is important - and they know what can happen if these things are ignored.
 
I say this because many employers have spoken to me over the years about the concerns they have over the financial health and safety of their people.  They see the messy consequences of dumb debt and investments that are far too risky.

The employers that operate their own workplace schemes demonstrate that this is not a theoretical concern.    They are fronting real money, invested for the benefit of their employees.  They want to do the right thing.

My view is that the people that make people do silly things with money are many and multi-facted.   My belief is that many of them walk amongst us - often at work.  
 

A few years ago, I was with a group of people at a workplace talking about how the employer's super scheme works.   A man sat at the back, arms folded, shaking his head at most of my pearls of wisdom.   I will call him "Dave".

Dave revealed that he didn't want a bar of anything the employer had to offer because he could manage his own money - and with much more success!    He promised to share with the group where he invests his money - after I had gone.  

The employer's scheme doubled the employee's contribution dollar-for-dollar, so I asked Dave  afterwards (in a very friendly way) what he was doing that could possibly beat the employer's scheme?   Dave laughed and tapped his nose. 

Now, I will never know what Dave said to the others in the group.     I do know that he was likeable, confident, persuasive and popular.    If he was giving financial advice to them - that would (now) be against the law. 

Given some of Dave's comments, I sensed that he was a big fan of the then-booming finance company sector.   Dave's colleagues were likely to trust him because they knew him.  But Dave wasn't a professional in any financial discipline and he obviously didn't think that investment risk was important. 

Unfortunately, Dave may have been very bad for his colleagues' financial health. 

People like Dave don't only work with us.  They are in our families and amongst our friends. 

Good information about financial health and safety at work needs to come from a professional in the field.   In this case, an Authorised Financial Adviser.    If you're an employer - insist on it.