Employer FAQs for Access EarlyPay
Got a question? Check out our FAQs below for up to date guidance and support.
What is EarlyPay?
Access EarlyPay is not a loan. It gives your staff the ability to take what they have already earned in advance of the normal pay date.
It's normal for staff to use their own phones. However, to use Access EarlyPay, they'll need a phone or tablet capable of using Android or iOS apps.
Payroll and employee reconciliation
Access EarlyPay directly integrates with your payroll system. Or, it can integrate with your Time and Attendance system, which is typically integrated with your payroll system.
Access EarlyPay 'Terms of Use' confirm any withdrawals and applicable transaction fees will be deducted from your staff's next pay. Staff can only take advantage of EarlyPay if they acknowledge and accept this clause when downloading the app.
Access EarlyPay keeps you in control - you decide who can use the service and the amount you allow to be drawn down. You can also disable the service for specific employees if you think it's not appropriate for them.
Access EarlyPay allows you to disable or enable access in these situations - so you are always in control.
Access EarlyPay should be manually disabled for the employee as part of the termination procedure.
If you record staff hours worked in a time and attendance system linked to EarlyPay, the system will show money accrued, regardless of contract type.
If you record staff hours worked in a time and attendance system linked to EarlyPay, the system will show money accrued, regardless of contract type.
If someone is leaving the company, how do we ensure they don't draw down more than they have earned?
You can manually disable Access EarlyPay as part your employee departure procedure.
As part of Access EarlyPay's integration with your payroll or time and attendance system, new employees will be automatically visible in EarlyPay. You can then choose to enable or disable the service for joiners and leavers.
Nothing needs to change in terms of your payroll process. EarlyPay integrates with your payroll timelines, defining when the app cannot be used due to payroll reconciliation. Any EarlyPay transactions appear as deductions in your payroll system.
How does it work?
For most of the pay period, EarlyPay can be used 24/7. However, when your pay period reconciliation starts, EarlyPay closes down to ensure final monthly pay reflects all EarlyPay transactions.
No. The transaction fee is added on top of the amount drawn down.
There are two types of cap - the percentage of accrued earnings, and the absolute amount of earnings employees can draw down. The amount available to draw down will be the lower value of these two caps.
EarlyPay only makes accrued earnings available, and never more than 50% of those earnings. Your payroll or HR team can define the percentage cap.
As Access EarlyPay is directly linked to your payroll or time and attendance system, every transaction and associated fee is posted in real time to your payroll system as a deduction and is clearly identified. So when it is time to run the payroll all transactions will have been reflected in the individual employee's monthly pay.
How does EarlyPay work with variable hours workers?
EarlyPay automatically takes hours worked from your existing time and attendance system, once each shift is approved.
If temporary workers are in your payroll and time and attendance systems, then they can use the EarlyPay app too, if you approve them to do so.
The costs
The software provider takes the transaction fee. Money taken by employees before the normal pay date is funded by the software provider. Fees cover the cost of finance, software licence, infrastructure, and transaction processing costs.
The transaction fee goes to the software provider to fund the advanced finance facility.
The Access Group funds the money drawn down by employees. When you run your payroll, EarlyPay transactions and fees are paid by you to The Access Group - so it's cashflow neutral to you.
Is EarlyPay suitable for a responsible employer?
Access EarlyPay is designed to help people manage their finances. We make it clear to users that any transaction means these funds will no longer be available on the normal pay day. We also link to the Money Advice Trust, which provides independent expert financial guidance.
Access EarlyPay clearly advises users that taking money early means it will not be available on the normal payday. You retain control over which staff have access to the EarlyPay facility - and you can set limits on how much can be drawn down.
You remain in complete control of who has access to EarlyPay, and what percentage of their earnings they can access, in advance of payday.
Setting up EarlyPay
The EarlyPay app and all the supporting documentation can show your company logo.
We will talk you through our simple set-up process and provide a full employee communication tool kit containing a variety of document templates and which cover everything your employees need to know.
Access EarlyPay software is designed to be installed fast, in just a matter of hours. Once Access has completed the background account set-up, we will walk you through the system. The app itself takes moments to set up and is highly intuitive for users requiring no training. The admin console is extremely straightforward and training is negligible. We also provide a full tool kit of staff communication templates and will guide you through the roll out process.