Asda, Burger King and Travelodge join forces with Stream to improve financial education at work

Most of us learn how to do our jobs on the job. Far fewer of us ever get taught how to manage the money we earn from them. Now a group of leading UK employers is setting out to close that knowledge gap.

The Employer Alliance for Financial Education is a coalition of businesses - convened by Stream - that aims to make practical money education a normal part of working life.

Asda, Burger King and Travelodge are joined by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and customer experience company Foundever as founding members. Together they employ more than 180,000 people and are extending an open invitation to other UK businesses to join the Alliance.

A place to work, a place to learn

Employers occupy a unique position in people's lives. They’re with us many, if not most of our waking hours, and they're the source of the pay packet that everything else depends on. The Workplace Alliance for Financial Education is built on the idea that this relationship is a natural place to offer help with money, without judgement.

Emily Trant, Chief Impact Officer at Stream said:

“We know that financial education is most effective when it's delivered around 'teachable moments' that allow people to quickly apply new financial knowledge and skills to their financial decisions. By connecting financial education to the moment when someone receives their pay, they are in exactly that 'teachable moment' that helps theory become practice.
Stream’s own research shows that the benefits come back to both the company and its staff. When employees feel they’re managing their money better, they experience a reduction in stress, which can lead to increased focus and productivity at work”. 

Employers' commitment

Alliance members have agreed to do three things: promote accessible financial learning to their workforces, share what works with one another, and measure whether their employees' financial knowledge and confidence improve over time.

Katharine Gourley, People Director at Travelodge said:

"Financial wellbeing is an important part of supporting our people, both at work and in their everyday lives. By making practical financial education more accessible through the workplace, we can help our colleagues to build the knowledge and confidence required to make informed decisions about their money."

James Goodman, Chief People Officer at Asda, added:

“Feeling confident about your finances can have a real impact on your wellbeing, so it’s important that our colleagues have access to the right tools and resources to build their financial knowledge.
We’re proud to support the Employer Alliance for Financial Education, helping colleagues better manage their money and plan for the future.”

The "Big Three"

Educational resources delivered by members of the Alliance will focus on the ideas that shape everyday decision making.:

• how interest and borrowing work
• how inflation affects what your money can buy
• how to weigh up risk when saving or investing

Members will promote a range of resources, including Stream's Money Masters programme. Employees can also choose to answer the "Big Three", a widely used and research-backed set of financial literacy questions. Their answers will help the Alliance see how people's understanding changes over time.

Why financial education matters

Research by The Richmond Project, a UK charity founded by Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak to build people's confidence with numbers, suggests that UK financial literacy lags behind many other countries, including the USA, Canada, Australia and Germany.

More than four in ten UK adults (44%) say they don't feel confident managing their money, and more than one in four (27%) have taken time off work because of financial worries.

Lizzie Gaisman, CEO of The Richmond Project, welcomed the launch of the Employer Alliance for Financial Education:

"What makes Stream’s initiative so aligned with our findings at The Richmond Project is the recognition of who needs this support most: our research showed that low-income workers experience the largest confidence gap.
Targeted workplace interventions do not just offer convenience - they offer access. When employers proactively provide clear, accessible financial education and foster a non-judgmental environment around numerical skills, they remove the stigma that keeps people from seeking help.”

Join the Alliance

The Alliance is open to any UK employer. If you'd like your organisation to take part, you can find out more and sign up at financialeducationatwork.org.