Parklands Care Homes has introduced a new flexible wage scheme for employees to help them through the cost of living crisis.

 The company, which operates nine care homes in Moray and the Highlands, is the latest to sign up to Wagestream, a financial wellbeing platform for frontline workers founded in 2018 by charities including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Its mission is to give employees the ability to instantly access, track, save and manage earned wages.

 The platform ensures that Parklands’ employees can access up to 40% of their accrued wages at any point of the month, in the event of unplanned expenses. Wagestream also automatically links to Parklands’ shift rota system Planday to ensure that shift workers can claim up to 40% of their salary for any additional hours worked and be paid the next day. 

 It comes as a survey by Wagestream shows that for four in ten UK employees, money pressures are their biggest worry, with the fear of unexpected costs the biggest concern for 47%. The survey also found that more than a quarter (26%) run out of money before payday.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Wagestream. At Parklands, we’re committed to doing everything we can to support our employees,” said Elaine Taylor, operations director for Parklands Care Homes.

“The way we work is changing. The traditional model of being paid at the end of the month doesn’t work for many shift workers, it isn’t responsive to the cost of living crisis and doesn’t allow employees to meet unexpected costs. 

“This new system gives us greater labour flexibility, which is vital during a pandemic, but also gives our employees peace of mind that if they are hit with unexpected costs, they don’t have to be out of pocket. The majority of our staff are shift workers and this platform gives them the power to choose when they’re paid, which is especially important in the current financial climate.” 

Parklands last week announced that it plans to build 24 affordable flats for rent in Inverness to house employees at its new care hub in the city, currently under construction. The company hopes that providing affordable homes for rent for its staff will encourage more qualified care workers to take up new posts at the care hub which will consist of a 58-bed care home and a later living village of 11 homes.

Parklands has also introduced incentives for new employees, including a £2,000 welcome bonus for new full-time nurses and a £250 incentive for other new employees, including carers. Parklands is also a Young Person’s Guarantee Employer and supports the UK government’s Kickstart Scheme for 16-24-year-olds.