PRESS RELEASE

One in ten UK employers now offer Earned Wage Access (EWA) to their staff, and this is expected to rise   

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, more than four million workers are now being paid when they choose – with 1 in 10 companies now offering the option, known as Earned Wage Access (EWA) or On-Demand Pay.

With 43% of workers spending three or more hours a week thinking about or dealing with financial stress, it is hoped more employers will embrace the technology, but as there can be a small one-off fee to use it, bodies including the Financial Conduct Authority, Nest Insight and The Woolard Review have called for greater oversight of how employers provide it.

In response to that, today (4th September, 2023) seven UK providers of EWA have united with the CIPP – the professional body for payroll, pensions and reward – to launch the ‘EWA Code of Practice.’ This is a voluntary set of rules for providers of EWA across the UK, that helps ensure their products deliver good outcomes for employees using the scheme. The founding members are: The Access Group, AnyDay, Ceridian, Hastee, Level Financial Technology, Salary Finance and Wagestream.

The CIPP provided input on the code to ensure there is clarity for employers and payroll teams on EWA best practice.

Jason Davenport, Chief Executive Officer at the CIPP;

Access to earned pay outside of a long, locked pay cycle is already a legal requirement in countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, and may in time become so in the UK. Government-backed research already shows that volatile and low-middle income households benefit from a more frequent pay cycle for a broad number of reasons, and nine in ten say their financial situation is stable or improved once they get paid when they choose. 

Michael Royce, a Senior Policy Manager at the Money and Pensions Service commented;

The EWA Working Group took on board the findings of Christopher Woolard CBE, who chaired ‘The Woolard Review’ during his time at FCA. He highlighted that EWA serves a clear benefit to workers and their employers, but may benefit from tighter guidance in future.

Juliet Molholland, a Customer Service Manager at Co-Op has the option of Earned Wage Access through her employer. She says it has been a lifesaver;

To read the Earned Wage Access Code of Practice, please visit the CIPP’s website: https://www.cipp.org.uk/ewa-code.

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