Global pharmaceutical firm Teva supports employees with financial pressures by providing relevant and appropriate benefits.
While it has approximately 37,000 employees worldwide, it has around 1,100 employees across four UK and Northen Ireland locations: Runcorn, Ridings Point, Harlow, and Larne. Its national salesforce works remotely across the country.
Teva acknowledges that the ongoing cost-of-living crisis has placed significant financial strain on many of its employees, believing rising bills, tighter budgets, and a general lack of accessible financial education to be some of the key contributors.
Often, people facing financial stress feel overwhelmed or believe there is no solution, which leads to avoidance rather than action.
Claire Blomley, senior benefits manager, UK and Northern Ireland at Teva, explains: “Financial education is vital. Stability in this area acts as a foundation for managing life’s other challenges. I believe all employees can benefit from financial coaching. Whether it’s learning how to manage debt, plan for retirement, or better understand available benefits, there’s always room to grow.”
The financial support the firm offers its UK and Northern Ireland employees includes access to financial wellbeing platform Bippit. Through this, they are assigned a financial coach with whom they can have one-to-one unlimited sessions to discuss financial questions, receive personalised money management plans, and have a general chat about how best to save money. They can also message their coach for quick questions and there is a wealth of information on the website, including videos and recorded webinars.
Its other financial support includes a discount store provided by Boostworks, free mortgage advice supplied by James McKenzie, and an employee assistance programme, provided by Health Assured, which provides legal and financial advice, and financial webinars and tools.
Blomley says that when the firm launched Bippit this year, she was genuinely surprised by the diversity of employees engaging with it.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” she adds. ”One story that stands out is an employee who used it to build a realistic budget, allowing them not only to save for the future but also to take up a new hobby, which had a profound impact on their mental wellbeing. It’s moments like these that reaffirm the value of offering meaningful support.”.
Teva regularly promotes its support to all of its employees, because it believes helping them to understand and make the most of their benefits is crucial. It uses its mental health first aiders, who have been educated around Bippit and its services, to signpost to them in case any employees are in need of financial support but feel unable to share this.
“When we launched Bippit alongside pension education sessions, we saw a nearly 10% increase in pension contributions,” says Blomley. “Giving people the tools and knowledge to take charge of their financial future can genuinely change lives.”
