More than three-fifths (63%) of hourly-paid staff at pub group Stonegate Pubs, which operates 772 UK venues under brands that include Be At One, Slug and Lettuce and Walkabout, have enrolled to use a new flexible pay benefit since its launch in April 2019.
The financial benefit, provided by Wagestream in partnership with Fourth, was implemented for Stonegate Pubs' 12,500 hourly-paid employees in April 2019, as part of its wider retention and recruitment strategy.
The new benefit aims to help employees improve their financial health and reduce money-related stress.
The flexible pay service enables staff to access and draw down a percentage of their earned wages on any day of the month prior to their scheduled payday for a flat fee of £1.75. The benefit is not a loan, so no interest is charged on the transaction.
Employees are also able to access budgeting advice, for example to help them understand their payslip, as well as financial welfare support, offered in conjunction with The Money Charity and the Money Advice Service, via the Wagestream mobile app.
Since its introduction in April 2019, 6,000 of the organisation's employees have made at least one pay transfer.
Tim Painter, HR director at Stonegate Pubs, said: “Our employees have had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the introduction of this service.
“Getting early access to money [employees] have already earned, that to all intents and purposes [belongs to staff], seems so simple, but this is a real revolution in pay that is already making it easier to recruit and retain staff.”
