‘Unprecedented opportunity’ for employers to take a more proactive stance to help employee wellbeing
Capita, one of the UK’s largest employers, has rolled out the financial health platform Level to its 45,000-strong workforce in order to help employees manage their money better.
The Level platform gives employees access to budgeting tools powered by Open Banking, salary-linked savings, early wage access and financial education and advice from the Money & Pensions Service.
The rollout follows a successful trial among 2,000 Capita employees over the last few months.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development recently found that money concerns are the biggest source of worry for UK employees – and that absenteeism and workplace illness caused by financial stress costs businesses approximately four per cent of payroll costs per year.
Stephen Holliday, CEO and founder of Level, said: “We believe that businesses must play a leading role in the financial health of their staff. Recent developments in regulation and financial technology means there is an unprecedented opportunity for employers to take a more proactive stance.
“We are delighted that Capita recognises the importance of responsible business, particularly during the toughest economic conditions seen for generations.”
Will Serle, Chief People Office at Capita, added: “We felt that giving our employees the right tools to manage their finances during these extremely tough times was just the right thing to do and we’ve seen already from our pilot how many people it is helping.
“This is another important step in building a truly responsible business, following the introduction of the Real Living Wage to all UK employees earlier this year. By looking after our employees, we are helping to build an environment in which they are happier and more productive, and in turn delivering a better service to our clients.”
The Level platform is based around the principles of fixing debt problems, changing behaviours and building savings. It is applicable to staff across pay grades in order to help meet their financial aspirations and to meet challenges.
Level targets large employers across the public and private sectors and will diversify its offering with new capabilities in years to come, providing a future-proof solution for its customers.
Holliday added: “The pace of change for organisations is rapid – and many of the solutions and services on offer now weren’t even thought about five years ago. By offering a select, targeted suite of services, we believe Level will help treat the cause, not just the symptom, of financial health.”