Promotional risk management company Fotorama has launched Job Safe, a new promotional product ideal for retailers and brands wanting to boost sales of high value products such as white goods.

Job Safe is a guarantee which ensures that a consumer who buys a particular product and subsequently loses his or her job is reimbursed with the full cost of the purchase. This applies regardless of whether the bill was settled immediately or a finance agreement was taken out with the retailer. Furthermore, the consumer is able to keep the item and will not be liable for any costs.

The basis for the launch of Job Safe is that there is widespread evidence that British workers lack confidence in their job security. Over four million working Britons are living in fear of being made redundant, according to a recent personal debt tracker survey by R3, the trade body for insolvency and turnaround professionals.

The figure has risen 50% over the last three months, with those aged between 25 and 34 the most worried about their employment prospects. A new You Gov survey reports backs this up saying that, when asking people about the extent to which they feel likely to be made redundant in the next 6 months, it is the younger age group of 18-34s who feel that they are most likely to be made redundant, with 19% saying that they are ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ as do 8% of 35-54s.

As a consequence, many potential customers are deferring large purchases or viewing them with extreme caution. In response to this, Job Safe provides reassurance to consumers who wish to purchase a high priced product but are living in fear of the financial implications they would encounter through possible job loss.

The guarantee is designed to be offered by a retailer or brand as a value-added promotional extra within the existing retail price, not as an optional additional purchase in the way Payment Protection or Extended Warranties are offered. The Fotorama guarantee is underwritten by an FSA compliant organisation.

Philip Penlington, director of Fotorama, says: “There is so much research to explain why there may be a reluctance to make large financial commitments for goods such as home entertainment packages, white goods and other high end products. Even if their current appliances need replacing, many UK households are restraining from purchasing high price products and this hits the economy.

"Job Safe will provide consumers with peace of mind, an opportunity to buy and be worry free. At the same time this supports retailers and brands, giving them a new way to stimulate sales and improve cash flow in this uncertain economic time.”