Clipper offers staff flexible pay innovation

A partnership with charity-backed financial wellbeing provider Wagestream will see a range of services rolled out to reduce employees’ financial stress, build financial resilience and improve their overall wellbeing.

As part of its broader ‘wellbeing at work’ programme, all Clipper colleagues will now have access to Wagestream - the charity-backed service which provides smart budgeting, savings and education through one app, built around a flexible pay cycle (also known as Earned Wage Access, or EWA).

The new initiative means Clipper also becomes one of the first employers to offer flexible pay (EWA), since a landmark study revealed the positive impact it has on employee quality of life. EWA sees employers return to offering staff flexible access to wages already earned and owed, throughout the month. It replaces the extended, locked pay cycle concept, invented in the 1960s as banking infrastructure evolved and processing fees became expensive for employers and banking providers.

Findings in the recent study included:

• Stress decreases, for 77% of employees with flexible pay
• Financial confidence improves, with 72% feeling more in control
• Budgeting improves, for 55%; only 2% struggled to adjust
• Savings behaviours improve, and existing debt cycles begin to recede
• Workers prefer it: 89% say flexible pay is better than any alternative
• Quality of life increases for 72%, outperforming benchmarks on financial inclusion

Clipper Logistics HR operations director Nicholas Beadle, said: “Giving people a fair chance, and empowering them to fulfil their potential, has been core to our continued growth, at Clipper - from the various Clipper apprenticeship schemes, to our  multi-award winning Fresh Start Programme. That’s why we’re partnering with Wagestream and rolling out a financial wellbeing programme that’s backed by leading charities and proven by data to improve quality of life. We’re proud to be the first logistics organisation taking this step and hope to see our industry peers follow suit in the future.”

For more information, visit www.clippergroup.co.uk