Healthcare organisation Newcross Healthcare is rolling out a flexible pay benefit that will allow 8,000 health workers among its 9,000-strong workforce to access their pay as it is earned, rather than waiting for a monthly pay date.
Newcross Healthcare has been trialling the new Flexi Pay benefit for the past 12 months, and as of December 2019 has officially launched the service organisation-wide, as part of its efforts to recruit and retain employees by allowing them more autonomy over their pay.
Staff now have the option to request as little as £10 or up to 50% of the pay earned during their completed shifts, with funds deposited in their bank account as soon as their shift has been validated.
Flexi Pay has been incorporated into the organisation’s internal HealthForceGo app, which also enables employees to manage their shift rotas.
The service is available 24/7, 365 days per year and employees can request a single payment every 24 hours, enabling them to be paid immediately after every shift they work. There is a £2 fee for each successfully paid withdrawal request.
So far, during the 12-month trial period, 6,026 Newcross Healthcare staff have used the service, withdrawing £13.5 million, at an average rate of £135.36 per claim.
Stephen Pattrick (pictured), chief executive officer and co-founder at Newcross Healthcare, said: “One of the reasons clients choose us is our ability to respond quickly to the needs of our service users. Sometimes that means placing staff with very little notice. If we’re asking our people to be flexible, I think we also have a duty of care to be flexible. That should include the way we pay them.
“We’re investing in technologies which enable our staff to be auto-assigned shifts based on their availability, to train in an online learning environment and now to choose whether they request Flexi Pay at any time of the day to receive funds into their bank account instantly.
“Flexi Pay is a first in the [healthcare] market and utilises pioneering technology from Lloyds Banking Group. The levels of usage and feedback we’ve received has been extremely positive and we’re excited to continue building new features that give our employees flexibility, freedom and choice to fit work around the other priorities in their lives.”