Special Report on Company Relocation: Dealing with the stress of employees and their families: The issues of children's education and the 'trailing spouse' should be taken into account, writes Alison Eadie

MOVING house is believed to be the third most stressful human happening after bereavement and divorce. When the move is compounded by uprooting children and spouse to a new part of the country or even abroad, stress levels increase dramatically.

Recognition of this has caused companies which are relocating employees, and relocation agencies, to add stress counselling and other forms of help and advice to the financial package.

Hambro Countrywide Relocation in March launched a 24-hour stress counselling service, to help employees of corporate clients put their stress into perspective. A team of seven qualified stress counsellors will listen to and advise employees and their families for six months from the date of the relocation offer. The service costs the client company pounds 5 to pounds 7 per employee, regardless of how many actually use it. If something more specialised is required, HCR will arrange it.

Michael Lansley, managing director of HCR, said: 'The majority of our client companies move their employees without undue trauma, but the service is essential for those families who feel that they cannot cope and need outside help.'

The greatest problem areas are continuity of the children's education and career prospects for the employee's spouse.

Employers are often sympathetic to the difficulties of moving children at a critical stage in their education. PRIcoa Relocation Management is acting for Conoco UK in its move of 600 staff out of London to a new headquarters in Warwick. Conoco has allowed three years for the move to let employees' children in the middle of 'A' level syllabuses finish their exams.

Employers are also increasingly offering help to 'the trailing spouse' - relocation jargon for the employee's other half who may have a good job of his or her own. Companies and relocation agencies will often offer help and advice to the spouse on preparing a new curriculum vitae and interview techniques and they may research the destination area for what jobs are available.

Michael Tagg, PRIcoa's national sales manager, said the personnel department of the employee's firm may write to potential employers of the spouse giving a semi-qualified referral. He said a letter from a company showing a high regard not just for its employee but for the spouse as well could open doors, if the spouse had relevant qualifications.

The trailing spouse issue has come to the fore as women have forged careers of their own. Although the trailer is still usually a woman, a significant minority is now men. Some companies address the financial problem by offering temporary compensation for loss of spouse's earnings.

ICI's relocation package includes up to six months loss of spouse's earnings as well as moving costs, bridging loans, disturbance allowance and mortgage equalisation. To qualify, the spouse must have been working for a reasonable time. The money is paid to the ICI employee through his/her pay packet, making it liable to tax at the rate paid by the employee. If the spouse finds a job before the six months are up, the money stops.

Compensation for loss of spouse's earnings is rare. Sue Shortland, manager of the employee relocation council of the Confederation of British Industry, said that although loss of one income in a dual income family caused difficulties, the loss of career prospects was seen as a more significant drawback.

'Money is a short-term solution and does not help the career issue. Employers are more likely to provide outplacement and career counselling for the spouse than compensation for loss of earnings,' she said.

Getting the move right for all the family and not just the employee is almost as important for the company as it is for the family, because of the expense involved. Wendy Coyle, a relocation specialist with a background in psychology, said: 'It does not matter how much a company spends on the move, on an improved salary and enhanced career prospects for the employee. It is of no relevance if the spouse or family are miserable.'

Ms Coyle's research in Australia shows that a third of marriages are put under severe strain by a job relocation. Her recently opened office in London - Wendy Coyle & Associates Relocation Services - offers counselling programmes for relocating families.

The worst problems, in a relocation that has not gone smoothly, are loss of self-esteem and loss of a sense of mastery, Ms Coyle said. Her programmes begin by looking 'at what support systems people need and what is available. We identify portable skills and the interests of the person and match it with the resources in the new area.'

If there is no immediate job for the trailing spouse, Ms Coyle tries to find study or voluntary work, which will look good on a CV and not as if the person has had time out.

When the trailing spouse is a man, the tensions can be greater. 'Men start climbing the walls before women do. It is a product of our socialisation,' Ms Coyle says.

The stakes in a relocation abroad are even higher because of the greater upheaval and costs. Mr Tagg of PRIcoa said, 'We look at and advise on the ability of the person being relocated to assimilate into the new community, including their willingness to learn a new language.

Industry has recognised the enormous cost of failure, according to John Carolan, managing director of Black Horse Relocation. 'Industry is moving fewer people for career reasons, but providing those it does move with a better service to lessen stress,' he said.