Fuel prices hit record high

With things as they are at the minute, I’m glad I don’t have a fleet out on the road. But as things are opening up and more of our delivery is physical, the fuel creep will have an impact on our bottom line, and leave us in a place where we have to look EVs and other transport methods. Employees have been highlighting just how much fuel prices have an impact on their desire to WFH and how it is impacting their financial and mental wellbeing as it’s not just fuel that’s rising, but seemingly everything."

"The rising cost of fuel will encourage more people to see value in the hybrid working model. WFH is now a much more accessible option for many people. I would encourage people to have a change of scenery whilst they adopt to the new way of working and to take a walk to their local coffee house. It's good to be around people, and it's good to invest in your local economy. The saving on fuel can certainly be used to support the high street and also gets you out of those four walls!"

"Fuel increases just add to the avalanche of price rises we've seen recently. In a few quick months we've gone from pushing the business to be consistently profitable to striving to break even, all without any change to the quality of the products or increase in the usage of anything. Next stop on the seemingly endless road of pain is the National Insurance increase."

"We're on the road most days delivering buffets and catering for events, and the rising cost of fuel is definitely having a detrimental impact on our business. We won't be passing on this increase to our customers however. We're just glad to be busy and driving our business in the right direction again."

"Delivery vans don't on fairy dust and we're being absolutely hammered right now. As a business that ships throughout the UK, we rely heavily on the courier network, which will inevitably pass on the rising fuel prices in what is termed the "fuel surcharge". The big question is, do we pass that on to our own customers? Wherever we can, we try to absorb these costs as much as we can but margins are being squeezed everywhere. Something has to give and unfortunately smaller businesses, as ever, are the ones to suffer."

"As a psychologist supporting people's mental health, the struggle is real. People's mental health is being impacted by the massive rise in fuel costs and broader inflation and they are wondering how they are going to make ends meet. The increased costs are something we are all experiencing, but for people with lower incomes the figures no longer add up. The irony is that the decrease in available finances makes it harder for them to be able to access appropriate mental health support as they may struggle to afford to get to physical appointments, to fund private therapy options and even power their tech to be able to access online sessions."

"Record fuel prices are affecting our mortgage business indirectly; the combined effect of all these massive cost of living increases is being factored into lenders' affordability assessments. This basically means lenders won't be prepared to lend as much, ultimately resulting in lower house prices."

"151p for diesel would be a saving for us here in Cambridgeshire.. Our pumps have been fluctuating between 153.9p to 158.9p for months now. It's baffling how a company can charge different prices throughout the UK at different petrol stations (even worse when they are about 2 miles apart and the difference is sometimes between 6p and 10p), when they purchase it in bulk? Someone is profiteering from people's need."

"Thankfully, I work from home most of the time but I now consciously offer online meetings instead of in-person where possible or walk to meetings to save fuel!"