WhitePaper FlexiPay

Flexi Pay 

HealthForceGo ® 

September 2018

Contents 

About Newcross Healthcare 4 

Executive Summary 5 

The Payday Loan Problem 6 

Pioneering ‘same day pay’ for Healthcare Staff 9 

Flexi Pay: Functionality 12 

Employee Response Survey 14 

Final Summary 17 

Flexi Pay Newcross Healthcare | 3

About 

Newcross 

Healthcare 

Newcross Healthcare 1 is an independent organisation 

that provides highly trained staff, clinical expertise and 

administrative support to assist those who require our 

care services. We’ve been providing exceptional healthcare 

across the UK since 1996. 

Our Values 

We are guided by a common set of values – our philosophy 

of care is a holistic, transparent and person-centred 

approach. It ensures everyone understands our shared 

vision. We value trust, empathy and expertise. 

Our commitment to caring for people is also reflected in 

our team values. Everyone working as part of the Newcross 

family understands what these core values are, and how 

they contribute to the service we provide. Together, we 

make sure every client receives the high standard of service 

possible. 

Our Services 

Through our nationwide network of local branches, we 

deliver two distinct types of services. We provide care in 

establishments, such as nursing homes, hospitals, schools 

and hospices. Additionally, we're also pioneers in Complex 

Care scenarios, where our specially trained staff provide 

one-to-one support, typically within an individual's home. 

All our carefully selected healthcare professionals 

are permanent employees supported by clinical and 

administrative teams. 


Executive 

Summary 

In the current economic climate, a necessity for short 

term financing exists. As Britain’s largest payday lender, 

Wonga, 2 entered administration in August this year, the 

question arises: What viable options are there to replace 

it? This white paper observes the quandary of the payday 

loan in Britain today, in juxtaposition to the expanding 

gig economy, and puts forward a solution derived by the 

CEO of Newcross Healthcare, Stephen Pattrick: Introduce 

business-led same-day-pay schemes. 

To this end, Newcross Healthcare has launched Flexi Pay, 

a fast payment initiative accessible through company app 

HealthForceGo ® , 3 which allows staff to access up to 50% of 

earnings from completed shifts prior to payday. 

Stephen Pattrick 

Chief Executive Officer 

Newcross Healthcare 


The Payday 

Loan Problem 

5,000 people 

who used Step 

Change’s online 

debt counselling 

over one year 

showed signs 

of anxiety or 

depression 

Research published by StepChange debt charity on 28th 

March 2018 details the rise from 1.1 million households 

requiring high cost credit in 2016, to 1.4 million in 2017. 4 

Over the past couple of years, the UK has witnessed a 

significant increase in the quantity of households resorting 

to high price payday loans in line with the rising costs of 

everyday living. 

The report, ‘What sort of credit can help low income 

households?’ 5 describes how many low income families 

have resorted to the “safety net” of high-cost credit, many 

taking out payday loans for day-to-day expenses. “Regularly 

relying on high cost credit puts added pressure on already 

tight budgets and leaves households particularly vulnerable 

to falling into problem debt,” the report’s authors write. 

Supporting this notion, the FCA discovered that almost 4 

million people used some form of high cost credit annually, 

at a value of over £8 billion, 6 whereas the total value of 

lending from responsible finance providers in 2016-17 was 

£22 million to around 55,000 consumers. 7 Credit unions 

have increased their number of members to around 1.8 

million, but are inaccessible to many vulnerable people. 

The Death of Wonga 

In August this year, Dr Joseph Spooner, Assistant Professor 

of Insolvency Law at LSE Law, commented on the fall 

of pay day loan companies in The Economist. Dr Joseph 

Spooner said many pay-day loan businesses relied on 

“sweatbox lending”, 8 referring to when debtors entered 

or neared default, they would be advised to take out new 

loans repeatedly. 


The day after the article was published, Wonga collapsed 

into administration, following a deluge of compensation 

claims costing £550 per claim to process. 

The demise of Wonga, formerly Britain’s largest payday 

lender, leaves behind a gap which highlights the importance 

of better, more ethical alternatives when it comes to shortterm 

financing, filling its place. 

Newcross: A ‘hybrid gig’ 

The millions of freelancers, contractors, temps and 

on-demand workers in the British workforce share a 

commonality: They together comprise the ever-expanding 

gig economy. 9 For those building a career within the gig 

economy, the configurations of pay and schedule are 

virtually unlimited in scope. Flexibility is often cited by ‘gig 

workers’ as the primary incentive for entering into this style 

of employment. 

According to new data by job search engine Adzuna.co.uk, 

numbers of UK workers on zero hour contracts have more 

than tripled since 2012, 10 propping up overall employment 

levels by accounting for almost a quarter of overall 

employment growth. This allows employers to hire staff 

with no guarantee of work. 

Newcross Healthcare have created a ‘minimum hours’ 

contract, allowing for malleability in terms of hours 

completed, while still providing the security of guaranteed 

work. The majority of healthcare staff members are on this 

‘annualised hours contract’ of 337 guaranteed hours per 

year. 

Frequently addressed criticism of the gig economy often 

refers to there being limited initiatives, minimal training 

and very few gig worker-friendly policies. Every month, 

Newcross deliver between 150 and 200 courses to over 

1,000 Nurses and Healthcare Assistants. 


“ The gig economy 

is growing, with 

a quarter-of-amillion 

vacancies 

on offer.” 

Staff receive holiday pay and are eligible for statutory 

maternity and sick pay, recognised as employees as 

opposed to ‘workers’. Flexi Pay is the latest addition to the 

plethora of benefits Newcross offers. 

Newcross Healthcare does not penalise people for cutting 

or changing their hours pattern. Moreover, staff members 

who decide to leave the business may re-join once having 

left. Newcross Healthcare provides the flexibility of gig 

work, security and access to same day pay. 


Pioneering ‘same 

day pay’ for 

Healthcare Staff 

“ At Newcross, 

we’re relied 

upon to deliver 

essential care for 

sick or vulnerable 

people.” 

Flexi Pay has the ability to pay Newcross Nurses and 

Healthcare Assistants within hours of completing each 

shift. The UK-wide initiative, which completed successful 

trials in various regions, is now up-and-running in all active 

Newcross branches, allowing healthcare professionals 

to opt-in to be paid up to twenty-four hours after 

they’ve completed a shift. The service, believed to be the 

first of its kind in the UK, is managed by an app called 

HealthForceGo ® which matches shifts with the best 

qualified staff available. 

Using a smartphone, employees select shifts according 

to their availability. Clients subsequently verify workers’ 

completed shifts electronically and gross pay is calculated. 

‘ 25% of workers 

state that they 

have suffered 

from a lack of 

concentration 

at work due to 

their finances’ 

‘The Workplace 

Wellbeing Study 

2018’ 

Vitreous World 

Typically, most UK healthcare workers are paid weekly or 

monthly but with this new service, they have the option 

to request an advance against the completed shifts and be 

paid as quickly as one hour after they’ve finished a day’s 

work. Newcross Healthcare CEO and co-founder Stephen 

Pattrick, commented that conscientious employers should 

always be mindful of staff needs and preferences. 

“At Newcross, we’re relied upon to deliver essential care for sick 

or vulnerable people. One of the reasons clients choose us is 

that they can trust us to respond quickly to the needs of our 

service users. Sometimes that means placing staff with very 

little notice. If we’re asking our people to be flexible, I think we 

also have a duty of care to be flexible. That should include pay.” 


According to the King’s Fund, least one in every ten of the 

UK working population is employed within the health and 

social care sectors, 11 but increases in demand for qualified 

staff have not been met with commensurate supply in 

the labour market. Stephen Pattrick highlighted that the 

growth of Newcross has only been possible because the 

organisation is constantly evolving in response to the 

market. 

“ The labour 

market is 

changing 

rapidly, most 

notably with the 

emergence of the 

‘gig economy.’” 

“The labour market is changing rapidly, most notably with the 

emergence of the ‘gig economy.’ Many of these changes run 

the risk of compromising quality or being intrinsically unfair 

to workers. In the healthcare sector, where there’s an acute 

shortage of qualified staff, there is a clear imperative to work 

harder to attract and retain staff. Maintaining the highest 

standards of care and fair treatment of staff is the best way to 

compete for the best people. Our technology is playing a key 

part in realising this ambition.” 

The new approach to pay has been part by a wider 

programme of investment within the Newcross network, 

creating innovative ways to recruit and train staff using 

digital technology, including ‘virtual shift’ online learning 

environments and video interviews. 

The decision to limit the available advance amount to 50% 

of the money earned on each shift was taken to ensure 

complications such as negative pay do not arise. Stephen 

Pattrick explained the reason for this decision: 

“ We believe we 

should be able to 

pay our people 

quickly. However, 

in order to offer 

this service, 

we have a 

responsibility to 

ensure it is used 

appropriately.” 

“The minimum frequency for submitting RTI forms to HMRC is 

on a weekly basis. Our swift payment of staff is akin to paying 

‘advances’ on wages, it is not payment in a payroll sense. We 

believe we should be able to pay our people quickly. However, 

in order to offer this service, we have a responsibility to ensure 

it is used appropriately.” 


Newcross Healthcare led the way with this kind of payroll 

technology, the founders of Amazon and Microsoft 

following suit by backing mobile app, Wagestream, which 

similarly allows employees of participating companies to 

draw money from their pay packets early. 

However, ‘same day pay’ is not a phenomenon unique to 

the UK. 

On October 11th, Market Watch released and article 

entitled ‘The end of the two-week pay cycle: How every 

day can be payday’, detailing that at least 15 million people 

each year 12 use at least one small-dollar credit product, 

including payday or pawn loans, according to the Chicagobased 

Centre for Financial Services Innovation. 

DailyPay, a US-based fast payment service now works 

with about one hundred companies, including the housecleaning 

service the Maids, handbag maker Vera Bradley, 

bakery chain Sprinkles Cupcakes, flooring company 

Empire Today and timeshare-rental firm Westgate Resorts. 

DailyPay offers employees 100% of their paycheck 

instantly. Fees are paid either by employees or by 

employers if they offer the service as a perk. Transaction 

fees max out at $3, similar to an ATM charge, said DailyPay 

CEO Jason Lee. 

While on-demand payment companies such as DailyPay 

allow workers to decide as and when they are paid, 

Newcross Healthcare have furthered this concept in the 

belief that these services should be available ‘in-house’ to 

employees. 

“ We put the user 

at the heart of 

every decision 

we make when 

developing new 

features for 

HealthForceGo” 

“We put the user at the heart of every decision we make when 

developing new features for HealthForceGo ® . It began with 

digital timesheets where our clients now verify shifts with a 

swish of their finger. This dramatically reduced processing time 

and makes shift pay instantly available to be withdrawn by our 

new service - Flexi Pay. Flexi Pay is unique in the market and 

gives our staff the ability to withdraw shift pay the same day 

they work. It helps them to better manage their finances and 

avoid high interest pay-day loans. The feedback we’ve received 

has been extremely positive and we’re excited to continue 

building new features that make our staff’s working lives easier 

and more enjoyable.” – Hamish Irving, Head of Platform 


Flexi Pay: 

Functionality 

Eligible Flexi Pay users are permitted to withdraw up to 

50% of the value of verified applications. Funds will be 

subsequently deposited in the user’s bank account either 

on the same day or the next working day dependent on 

their time of submission to the Newcross Healthcare 

finance department. 

Flexi Pay allows for a mass-scale advancement of pay on 

the subsequent payslips of HealthForceGo ® users. Up to 

50% of pay from a shift can be accessed, the remainder 

is held towards tax, national insurance and arrestment of 

earnings liabilities on the following payday. The minimum 

amount that can be withdrawn is £10. 

Provided a shift is not ‘flagged’ by the branch, has not 

already been paid and is verified, an advance amount may 

be paid to an eligible user. Advanced algorithms and data 

verify Healthcare workers’ electronic timesheets and pass 

them for payment. 

There is a £2 administration fee for each successfully paid 

Flexi Pay withdrawal request. This amount will be deducted 

from the Flexi Pay amount. Any associated costs exist to 

implement the service. Surplus funds are then reinvested 

into benefit schemes as and when possible. 

Payment requests received after 5.00pm appear in the 

user’s bank account by midnight the following working day. 

Flexi Pay payments will appear as an advanced amount in 

your next payslip. 

All Flexi Pay withdrawals are payable at Newcross’ 

discretion. 


Between 14 th May 2018 and 28 th September 2018, 

20,638 separate Flexi Pay requests had been made and 

£1,209,792.80 paid out in total, the average transaction 

amounting to £58.60. 

Of Newcross’ 7042 Healthcare Staff, 1947 individuals have 

utilised the service to date. 


Employee Response 

Survey 

Flexi Pay proved a success in Scotland, the South-Central 

region, the South West and Wales. It was rolled out in the 

South East, Scotland and South Central on 20 th June 2018 

and in the South West and Wales on 8 th August 2018. 

In order to examine the response to Flexi Pay by its users, 

Newcross released a survey on 24 th August 2018, to staff 

where HealthForceGo ® is live. It gleaned a total of 498 

responses during a seven-day period. These responses 

revealed that 95% of participants had heard of Flexi Pay, 

42% had used the service and 77% might use it in the 

future. 83% of participants felt as though Flexi Pay could 

benefit them during their time with Newcross Healthcare. 

The survey also revealed that 17% of participants had 

taken out a payday loan, and a further 8% had considered 

doing so. Poignantly, 78% of people voted ‘Yes’ when 

asked: ‘Do you think that having access to Flexi Pay would 

prevent you from taking out a payday loan in the future?’ 

An investigation published on 13 th August 2015 entitled 

‘Payday lending market investigation’ undertaken by 

the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), shows 

regarding overall usage, most payday loan consumers (53%) 

had taken out payday loans to cater for living expenses 

like utility bills and rent costs. 13 Newcross’ survey showed 

that 52% of HealthForceGo ® users who accessed Flexi 

payments, spent their advance on household bills. 

According to the same CMA investigation, the average size 

of a payday loan in the UK stands at £260 and almost all 

loans are £1,000 or less in value. The average monetary 

value of Flexi Payments withdrawn by HFG users recorded 

on 6 th September 2018 amounted to £60, drawing a 

correlation between the two short term financing methods. 

Following these results, Flexi Pay was launched in the 

North and East regions on September 19 th 2018. 


Question one 

Are you familiar with the Flexi Pay feature of our 

HealthForceGo app? 

Question two 

Have you used Flexi Pay? 

Question three 

Do you think you might use Flexi Pay in the future? 

Question four 

Do you thinkthat Flexi Pay could benefit you? 


Question five 

What did you spend your last Flexi Pay withdrawal on? 

Question six 

Do you think that having access to Flexi Pay would prevent 

you from taking out a payday loan in the future? 

Question seven 

Have you ever taken out a payday loan? 


Final 

Summary 

At Newcross, the introduction of Flexi Pay has been a huge 

instrument of change. 

Looking to the future, the feature looks to adapt in line 

with the requirements of those who are utilising it. It will 

continue to be closely monitored by Newcross Healthcare’s 

finance team. 

As our fast-payment technology delivers staff an advance 

on their wages, the changes that have been implanted also 

serve by being socially responsible and environmentally 

sensitive. In a business which values efficiency, the 

economic and environmental impact of initiating a 

paperless timesheet experience, combined with the 

lessened opportunity for time wasting, together contribute 

in ensuring that company resources are used appropriately. 

In addition to existing as a swift alternative to typical 

advance payment systems, Flexi Pay has proven to 

heighten the financial wellness of Newcross Healthcare 

employees, demonstrated by the response survey. Flexi 

Pay seeks to promote the wellbeing of staff, reducing stress 

in the workplace thereby encouraging employees to go on 

to deliver only the highest quality of care to our clients and 

service users. 

As a socially conscious employer, Newcross sets the bar 

high. A system has been created which is in fitting with the 

ethos of the business, reflecting the core values of trust 

empathy and expertise. This end goal has been achieved 

by providing a quality service upon which Newcross 

Healthcare staff can rely. 


Stephen Pattrick offered a final comment: 

“Our call is clear. Not only would I advise other ethicallydriven 

organisations to implement a service like Flexi Pay, 

we also urge the UK government to publicly support and 

encourage these private initiatives. 

Workplace productivity is highly likely to be impacted 

by financial stress. Given the nature of what we do as a 

healthcare provider, we are simply unprepared to put the 

quality of the service we provide at risk. This is why we’ve 

chosen to invest in a financial wellbeing programme. 

As highlighted by the statistics and our supporting survey 

presented within this document, we are fulfilling an 

important need. It is our belief that access to these services 

should be widespread, altogether ridding the necessity for 

unaffordable lending”. 


Endnotes 

1. Newcross Healthcare is an independent organisation that provides 

highly trained staff, clinical expertise and administrative support to help 

care for sick and vulnerable people. More information can be found at 

newcrosshealthcare.com 

2. Wonga.com, also known as ‘Wonga’ is a British payday loan provider 

of "short-term, high-cost credit" that was founded in 2006 and has 

operations in the UK, Spain, Poland and South Africa. It is a trading name 

used by Wonga Group Limited, operating through WDFC UK Limited 

and Wonga Worldwide Limited. 

3. HealthForceGo ® is a proprietary technology developed by Newcross 

Healthcare to quickly and safely manage the deployment and 

supervision of Nurses and Healthcare Assistants. The smartphone app 

can be downloaded to Apple and Android devices and provides real-time 

updates of available shifts to suitably qualified staff. It also ensures that 

all shifts undertaken are logged and approved before staff are paid. 

4. StepChange commissioned YouGov plc to conduct general population 

research: Total sample size was 5,052 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken 

between 13 th - 18 th December 2017. 

5. StepChange Debt Charity (2017) ‘The high cost of credit: A discussion 

paper on affordable credit alternatives’ 

6. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (2017) High cost credit review 

FS17/2 technical appendix table 4 

7. Responsible Finance (2017) Annual Industry Report 2017 

8. Dr Joeseph Spooner ‘Wonga’s woes spell the end of the payday-loan 

era’ in The Economist. Accessible at: https://www.economist.com/ 

britain/2018/08/30/wongas-woes-spell-the-end-of-the-payday-loanera 

9. A labour market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts 

or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. 

10. Data from Adzuna.co.uk 

11. The King’s Fund ‘Overview of the health and social care workforce’ 

The King’s Fund, https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/time-thinkdifferently/trends-workforce-overview 

[Accessed 2 September 2018]. 

12. Accessed https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-end-of-the-twoweek-pay-cycle-how-every-day-can-be-payday-2018-10-10 

13. Competition and Markets Authority, ‘‘Payday lending market 

investigation’ 24 February 2015, p4. 


Unless stated otherwise, all text, photography, data and illustrations 

© Newcross Healthcare Solutions Limited 2018. All rights reserved. 

‘Newcross’, ‘Newcross Healthcare’, ‘Newcross Healthcare Solutions’ ‘HealthForceGo’, ‘Nurchat’, 

the bisected cross roundel device and all associated design features or trading styles are 

trademarks or registered trademarks wholly owned by Newcross Healthcare Solutions. Any 

unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. 09/18043

WhitePaper FlexiPay

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?