Asda is rolling out one of the nation’s largest workplace savings initiatives for its 150,000 employees.
In partnership with financial benefits company Wagestream, the supermarket giant will offer its staff a 4.7% annual equivalent rate workplace savings account, which is fully protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Under the initiative, Asda workers can withdraw “at any time with no fees attached” and will not be made to deposit a fixed amount.
Staff are able to save by choosing a fixed sum to be taken out of their normal pay packet and deposited into the savings account, or by rounding up shift payments to the nearest pound with the difference deposited into their accounts automatically.
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Asda said it expects the scheme to be the most popular benefit on offer, with around 36,000 workers having already downloaded Wagestream’s app.
Chief people and corporate affairs officer Hayley Tatum said: “Financial wellbeing of colleagues is a top priority for us and offering this UK-leading workplace benefit is just one of the many ways we’re continuing to support our colleagues. This new benefit is alongside other financial benefits and support we already offer our colleagues at Asda, which includes financial education, budgeting tools, discounts and flexible pay.
“We’ve already had some really positive feedback from colleagues about these benefits and we’re looking forward to this latest roll-out, which we hope will have a positive impact for so many of our colleagues.”
It follows the grocer’s recent efforts to turnaround the business after like for like sales were down 5.3% for the period ending 30 June and as chairman Lord Rose admitted he was “embarrassed” by the group’s performance.
For the remainder of the year, Asda will focus on three key priorities: customer satisfaction, enhanced product availability, and a renewed trading plan.
As part of this, it is investing an additional £30m in colleague hours to improve the replenishment of stock during opening hours in store, increase the number of colleagues on checkouts at the weekend, and improving cleaning in store.
