Motorway service area operator Roadchef has announced that following a successful trial, Wagestream - which provided its team with access to ​their wages as they earn them​ – will now be available to all of its team members as of this month.

Roadchef, which operates 30 service areas in 21 locations across the UK, partnered with the financial wellness provider​ working to ​bring financial health back to workers ​in ​March 2019, trialling the ‘​income streaming​​’ platform in three of its key locations. Through Wagestream, Roadchef employees can access and withdraw up to 40% of their earned income throughout the month rather than having to wait until payday.

Roadchef’s director of HR & Development Laura Bunn, said that initial reaction from employees at locations in Chester, Clacket Lane on the Surrey Kent border, and Northampton was positive, with a high number of employees enrolling. Workers can make use of the platform’s informative “just in time” financial education, and access wages to cope with unexpected expenses like car troubles or boiler replacements without having to turn to overdrafts, credit cards or high-interest payday loans.

“Wagestream has already made a huge impact on our employees who took part in our initial trial, which meant we had no hesitation in making the platform available to team members across the company," she said. "The introduction of Wagestream comes as part of a wider employee welfare strategy at Roadchef, including a new platform which offers access to discounts and benefits that are designed to help employees save money on everyday purchases, as well as mental health first aid,” ​ said Laura.

The business, whose Norton Canes services on the M6 Toll were recently voted the best in the UK, believes that their winning formula relies on their teams de-stressing and delighting their customers.

Mark Fox, CEO of Roadchef added: “​Our aim is to make Britain’s roads safer and happier, and we can only do so by ensuring our employees are fully supported in order to continue providing excellent service to every one of our customers. By developing our partnership with Wagestream we hope to add an additional safety net for those who might need it, ensuring no one in our company has to worry about short term financial issues.”

Peter Briffett, CEO and co-founder of ​Wagestream​, said: “Wagestream fits hand in glove with the motorway services sector and the way businesses in this sector employ staff. It’s common to have difficulty filling shifts, particularly at late notice. However, we know from experience that this ceases to be a problem once staff know they can access pay for those shifts straight away.

“Income streaming provides a golden incentive to workers to alleviate this problem, while both the employer and employee start to see additional hours as mutually beneficial. We’ve even found that staff start asking for more shifts at firms who were previously struggling to fill them, such is the power of re-establishing an instantaneous link between work and wages.”

Wagestream launched last year as the UK’s first ​‘​Income Streaming​​’ provider and is​ also registered with the FCA​ - offering a service to employers that empowers employees with financial flexibility, tackling the negative impact of the outdated monthly pay cycle.