Platform launches offering 'free' SME financial advice

An employee benefits platform offering a range of benefits and services often associated with those at larger corporates has launched for SMEs.

Available free of charge until the end of the year - to help small businesses who may be struggling during the Covid-19 crisis - one of its main benefits offerings is financial advice to employees.

Powered by OpenMoney, the digital benefits platform also offers mental wellbeing guidance from Thrive and life and critical illness insurance solutions are available through Anorak.

Staff can get household insurance from Uinsure as well as wellbeing deals via My Active Discounts. The platform, available on smart phone and tablet, links with payroll information and workplace pensions and employees can select their own benefits and rewards

The standard cost is £2 per employee with no set up charge - a £600 saving for an SME with 50 employees over the next six months.

Anthony Morrow, founder and chief executive of OpenMoney, argued that small businesses need the services of WorkLife now more than ever.

He said: "Small companies and their employees make up the biggest chunk of UK businesses and the country's workforce. They are the nation's engine room and its lifeblood. Without their hard work and earnings, the economy has ground to a halt.

"These workers deserve to be looked after, especially when so many have been furloughed and are facing money worries. It can be difficult to know where to turn to for advice on financial matters, so with the WorkLife platform we are finally giving smaller companies the tools they need to offer their employees this vital support."

More than nine million people in the UK are currently furloughed, 1.9 million mortgage borrowers have taken payment holidays and a further 1.5 million people have been given payment holidays on their loans and credit cards.

'Ignored' SMEs

Robert Marshall, managing director of WorkLife, added: "Most employee benefits providers usually focus on big companies where they can turn a buck because of the size and sheer numbers of staff. They've ignored the SME sector because a company with 50 employees isn't profitable enough for them.

"With WorkLife we are blowing that assumption out of the water and helping to empower employers at a time when they and their staff need it most. We know that increasingly people look to the companies they work for as a trusted source of help and information. By offering WorkLife free to employers for the rest of the year, we hope that this can help them give their people the kind of helping hand they need right now."

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• Topics
• Employee Benefits
• Technology
• OpenMoney
• employee benefits
• SMEs
• financial advice
• Anorak
• THRIVE
• Uinsure