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Key Workers continue to be essential to our society
Before the pandemic, one might have had a few misconceptions defining what a ‘Key Worker’ was, and the work they carried out within the UK. We have come to understand the vital role they play at the heart of our most-trusted and valued services.
It is difficult to envision what the pandemic would be like, without the contribution of those individuals, including members of the Armed Forces, the NHS and emergency services and teachers.
According to the last Office for National Statistics (ONS) data we have on Key Workers from 2019, 10.6 million people – which is a third of the entire UK workforce – were employed in Key Worker occupations and industries. The largest group worked in health and social care with over three million people. The second biggest group being those in education and childcare, with over two million. The data also highlighted that three fifths of all UK Key Workers were women (58% to 42%), while the split for non-Key Worker roles was exactly the opposite.
As an adviser, if you are active in a region of the country where Key Workers are more prominent (for example, in West Somerset 51% of the entire employed population are key workers, Wyre is 48% and Hambleton 47%) then you’re likely to be working with them to find the most suitable mortgage options. However, the options available to Key Workers have not always been as plentiful as you might have thought.
Key Workers can be seen by lenders as a unique borrower demographic and should be able to access a set of products and solutions, specific to their individual circumstances and needs. Foundation’s recently launched Key Workers proposition, sets out to address those needs.
For example, Key Workers historically tend to be on lower salaries, but have jobs which are more stable and not severely impacted in terms of redundancy, business closure, etc. As a specialist residential lender, Foundation can support Key Workers by offering them 5.5 times Loan-to-Income (LTI), much in the same way we offer a higher LTI option for Professionals. Furthermore, we can offer loans up to a higher LTV and maximum loans up to £1m at 75% LTV.
It’s important to recognise that Key Workers are not only those working in education or the health service, but also those who work in the Army, Navy or RAF, UK Fire Service, University lecturers, as well as the Police and Prison Service.
In terms of the importance of the roles Key Workers undertake, we believe they can be looked at uniquely regarding potential borrowing, given that their job security tends to be more robust, which can be relied upon when making the lending and underwriting decisions.
A final point to make, is the importance of ensuring Key Workers get the mortgage finance they need is the requirement for these individuals to be able to live within the areas they serve.
It’s therefore of great value to local communities to have Key Workers owning homes within them. We believe our new proposition will be able to provide a further range of product options for advisers active in this space and working with these individuals.
This article was originally published on The Intermediary
References:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket
/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/coronavirusandkeyworkersintheuk/2020-05-15
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