This alliance, targeted at bolstering the financial wellbeing of their staff, is in response to recent data that indicates a substantial 80% of employees feel that financial stress detrimentally affects their job performance. This revelation underscores the importance for employers to roll out effective financial wellbeing strategies to alleviate such pressures, which can ultimately elevate overall workplace productivity.

The two organisations are tapping into the Glasgow Credit Union’s Employer Partner scheme, a programme spanning over three decades, supporting employees across West and Central Scotland. This scheme, which counts over 117 employer partners across diverse sectors, facilitates employees’ access to competitively priced loans, savings, and mortgage products directly from their salary. This comes at no extra cost to the partnering organisations.

Moreover, the ‘Financial Wellbeing Hub’ is another salient feature of this scheme. It’s a platform where employees can seek free financial advice, partake in regular financial literacy workshops covering myriad topics, from basic budgeting to the intricacies of credit scores.

Orla Hoeck, HR director for Scottish Opera, said: “We are continually looking at ways to enhance our employee benefits offering to ensure that we continue to attract and retain staff of the highest calibre.

“We’re delighted to partner with Glasgow Credit Union as we focus on incorporating financial wellness into our internal wellbeing initiatives. We’ve already seen fantastic engagement levels from staff who are taking advantage of the opportunity to save directly from their salary.”

Linda Irvine, deputy CEO and director of membership and engagement at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, said: “The health and wellbeing of our people is a top priority.

“We’ve always invested as an organisation in the physical and mental wellbeing of our team, and now more than ever we want to inspire our people through financial understanding, education and wellbeing.

“Joining Glasgow Credit Union’s Employer Partner scheme, for no cost, was an obvious choice to enhance our existing benefits package. We’re excited to introduce this to our employees so they can take advantage of the exclusive member-only products on offer.”

Paul Rytel, business development manager at Glasgow Credit Union, said: “Our Employer Partner scheme has been helping employees across West and Central Scotland manage their finances to minimise financial stress in the workforce for more than 34 years.

“Given the well-established link between money worries and stress, we believe that financial wellbeing should be considered as a core component of any benefits package. Our scheme provides organisations with a comprehensive service to improve engagement with employees at all levels while increasing financial literacy.

“We’re delighted to partner with esteemed organisations such as Scottish Opera and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and we believe our service will help these organisations attract and retain quality talent, boost internal productivity and ultimately, lead to better financial outcomes for all.”