It's Money Week and we're providing money support and advice to students across our campuses and online. The Student Funding Team will be available on each campus (Sighthill 20 Feb, Craiglockhart 21 Feb, Merchiston 22 Feb) providing students with budgeting advice, answering their money questions and sharing some top tips.
We are however aware that it is not just our students who may find current times financially challenging, and that staff can also be affected as the various financial commitments are being juggled. This may then lead to additional stress and anxiety which many may be experiencing for other reasons.
We wish to make our staff community aware of the various support resources and partnerships we have in place for financial stress prevention and intervention as required:
Our EAP Provider MCL Medics provide advice to staff on financial management and debt support with colleagues able to gain information from their website or App and speak to an MCL colleague. Click here to gain info on how to access this service.
We have partnered with Salary Finance, an award-winning financial wellbeing provider that helps employees better manage their finances. Salary Finance offer access to affordable, salary-deducted loans, a range of savings and investment products, and access to financial education so colleagues can better understand budget planning.
Head to the Salary Finance website to see what they can offer you, including:
- Guidance, offering education and support on all money matters
- Salary-deducted loans that could help you to save money on debt repayments – payments come straight from your monthly salary, simple and hassle-free
- A range of workplace ISA products
For information, when you apply for a product with Salary Finance, your credit history and loan details are kept confidential. Edinburgh Napier won't know any of the details.
We have partnered with Vivup to host our Benefits Platform, to give you can access to our exciting range of benefits to support your physical, financial and mental wellbeing. This includes shopping vouches, family day out discounts and household salary sacrifice options on white goods etc. To access all the exciting benefits available, please visit and register at https://www.vivup.co.uk/users/sign_up . This includes the “Cycle to Work" Scheme allowing colleagues to choose and pay for a bike and associated cycling accessories through a salary sacrifice scheme.
Pensions can be confusing and often forgotten about and it may be worth getting some advice on pension contributions to help with future planning. There are several ways in which you can increase your pension scheme payments on both the Lothian Pension Fund and the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme. Each pension scheme offers slightly different options. Click here for more information or contact Payroll to chat over options and they can signpost you to our various pension partners dependent on whether you are professional services or academic colleagues.
In January we were pleased to welcome Kevin Duffy, Scotland Partnership Manager, from The Money & Pensions Service (MAPS) who delivered a Financial Wellebing session. He highlighted some of MAPS free information and resources available on MoneyHelper to support our financial wellbeing. It was a useful session at the start of the year to help us think about our finances especially after the expense of the festive period.
If you missed the session, here are the slides and some useful links:
Edinburgh Napier University has also joined Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh by enabling its staff to become members of First Scottish University Credit Union Limited (FSUCUL). FSUCUL was set up in 1991 by 12 staff at Heriot-Watt University but now boasts over 200 members. Membership is free and open to all staff at Edinburgh Napier and is a great way to save money straight from payroll deduction and also apply for affordable loans. Find out more here or contact them on 0131 451 8005 or email universitycu@abcul.org
Remember there are also external organisations who can provide support such as Money Advice Scotland who offer confidential advice concerning debts, Citizen's Advice Scotland offer advice on many financial/debt concerns face to face on through their website and Support in Mind run a dedicated mental health and money advice service in Scotland.
The cost of running a car has also increased any some colleagues may be thinking of non-car ownership for the future but may need a car on occasions. The University is a corporate member of the Enterprise Car Club. As a result, both staff and students over 21 years of age can obtain a year's free personal membership. To claim your first year's free personal membership, get your promotional code by emailing environment@napier.ac.uk before completing the enrolment form with Enterprise Car Club.
Colleagues can use the Enjoy app to pay for food and drinks at our campus cafes. Not only can this help you budget, but you can collect loyalty points when you spend! Learn more about the Enjoy app here.