Asda has teamed up with financial wellbeing app Wagestream, to roll out a programme of financial support and switch to a flexible pay cycle, for its 140,000 team members.
The Wagestream app, which can be downloaded on the Apple and Google App stores, will show colleagues how much they have earned throughout the month, and give them flexible pay – so that they can choose when they get paid.
The app, which was created with financial charities and impact organisations, also offers discounts on bills, interactive money coaching, and a way to set savings aside automatically each month – with a chance of doubling their savings each month, through a prize draw.
Signing up to Wagestream comes just weeks after Asda announced it was investing £141m to increase hourly pay for retail colleagues by 10 percent this year, with rates rising to £11.00 in April and £11.11 in July.
Asda Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer, Hayley Tatum, said:
“We understand that from time to time our colleagues may need a bit more financial help, something which would be made worse by the current cost of living crisis.
“We are always looking at ways we can help and giving our colleagues flexible access to their pay, alongside a range of support and guidance through the Wagestream App could prove vital in giving them financial peace of mind as well as their mental wellbeing.”
Wagestream was created with investment from the Fair By Design campaign, through some of the UK’s leading social impact organisations – including Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Big Society Capital and Barrow Cadbury Trust. It operates on a social charter – which means every service it offers must measurably improve the financial wellbeing of people in work. Around two million people now access Wagestream through their employer, globally.
Emily Trant, Head of Impact and Inclusion at Wagestream, added:
“The most recent State of Financial Wellbeing index found that record numbers of workers are willing to move jobs if offered better financial support. As one of the UK’s biggest flexible pay employers, with a whole range of tools and services to support financial wellbeing, Asda will improve the lives of existing team members and strengthen its position as a retail employer of choice.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
