Casual Dining Group (CDG), one of the UK’s largest restaurant companies with over 300 sites, has rolled out an industry-leading suite of financial services for its employees, including on-demand pay, across all of its brands.
The move clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to attracting and retaining the best people in the industry, as well as safe guarding its employees against possible mental health issues caused by financial distress due to significant unforeseen expenses, by introducing an innovative range of financial welfare tools.
An on-demand pay function along with real-time financial education, has been rolled out across all its brands with immediate effect, and facilitated through Wagestream in partnership with Fourth, allowing employees to access the money they have earned up until that point ahead of payday for just a £1.75 transaction fee.
Thanks to the integration with Fourth and Wagestream, all payments are deducted from the normal fortnightly or monthly pay cycles, meaning there is no impact to the payroll process. The move gives all CDG employees the flexibility to pay for sudden and unforeseen expenses, such as a broken-down car or unexpected bill, out of their own wages, without needing to borrow money through credit cards.
To further support employees with their financial wellbeing, CDG has also introduced Salary Finance, a service which helps people get out of debt and into savings with a suite of products such as affordable loans, simple savings both directly from salary, and financial education. Salary Finance and CDG working together will provide quick, easy and confidential access to robust financial support when their employees need it.
Claire Clarke, Group HR Director, Casual Dining Group, said, “Attracting and retaining the best employees in the industry is an ongoing battle for all businesses. Despite facing into a number of industry headwinds, we’re focused on continually improving the support, training and services we offer our employees and this latest introduction of Wagestream and Salary Finance is just one extension of that.
“Generationally and culturally, what people demand from the workplace has changed. It’s no longer enough to offer a competitive wage, you need to create a meaningful environment that promotes positivity and progression in order to improve staff retention.
“Through our work with Wagestream and Salary Finance, we are able to promote and provide a suite of financial services and training to our employees, should they need it, which gives them the tools and information they need to confidently tackle a number of financial scenarios.”
