South Lanarkshire Council staff have been given the opportunity to access a new savings scheme.
The government-backed savings scheme, Work and Save Scotland, is now available for thousands of South Lanarkshire Council staff to access.
It was launched earlier this year and aims to reduce financial worries for employees through payday saving.
The scheme gives employees access to savings plans with credit unions where payments are deducted straight from their salaries and South Lanarkshire Council’s 16,000 staff are eligible to sign up.
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said: “The current cost of living crisis means initiatives such as payday saving have never been more important.
“South Lanarkshire Council believes taking part in schemes such as Work and Save Scotland can help protect our staff from unaffordable household debt.
“Saving a little every month reduces the need to obtain expensive credit if unexpected bills or expenses come along and we’re proud to be one of the first local authorities in Scotland to take part in this initiative.”
Workplaces such as Scottish Water, Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow University and Edinburgh Airport have signed up to the scheme as well as South Lanarkshire Council, North Lanarkshire Council and North Ayrshire Council.
More employers are preparing to join the scheme after discovering staff, especially younger workers, like savings being held by non-profit Scottish credit unions who have teams of local advisers to help.
Social Justice Secretary, Shona Robinson, praised the scheme, she said: “We know families are struggling with the cost of living crisis and are being hit hard, particularly with rises in energy bills and food costs.
“This is why we’ve allocated £3 billion this year to help mitigate the effects.
“I’m delighted that the Work and Save programme, funded by our Scottish Community Lenders Fund, is helping people to create a valuable financial buffer by developing workplace savings schemes.
“Putting a small amount of money aside on payday can make it easier for people to prepare for unexpected costs.”
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