Illustrated piggy bank and Sync's mascot Sprout with savings in mind

When your team is under financial pressure, it shows up at work; in absenteeism, stress, productivity dips, and even higher turnover. But there’s something simple employers can do that makes a big difference: offer a Payroll Savings scheme.

“ℹ️ It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to improve financial wellbeing, boost morale, and cut the hidden costs of money worries.”

Let’s break down the business case:

💡 Financial stress is costing UK employers £billions

It’s estimated that financial stress costs UK businesses billions each year in lost productivity and absenteeism. Unlike many employee benefits, Payroll Savings can often deliver a clear, measurable return within the first year.

Here’s why:

94% of employees worry about money
Financially stressed workers are 4.1x more likely to be less productive
and 2.3x more likely to be looking for a new job

(bold claims? Check the sources at the end of this article)

With Payroll savings, we see positive movement on all these markers: reduced absenteeism & presenteeism, lower turnover (and therefore recruitment costs) higher engagement, and an employer brand boost.

For most employers, the cost of setting up and running Payroll Savings is negligible, and next incomparable to the financial benefits recovered in productivity alone. The scheme not only pays for itself but often generates huge net gains.

💷 So, what’s the real ROI for your business?

Around 62% of UK employees are financially stressed. Each affected employee costs you about £1,000 per year in lost productivity and turnover.

ROI with Payroll Savings:

A well-run scheme typically gets 20-40% participation in Year 1
This reduces absenteeism by up to 10% and voluntary turnover by up to 15%

🧮 Quick ROI calculator

Hidden cost:

(# of employees) × 62% × £1,000

Recoverable with Payroll Savings in Year 1:

Benefits Recovered (%) = Participation Rate (%) × Impact Rate (%)

Where:

Participation Rate = 20% to 40% (typical range of employees saving through Payroll Savings)
Impact Rate = 50% to 100% of the financial stress-related costs attributed to those employees

10–40% of that hidden cost (through reduced absence and turnover)

Worked (conservative) example:

→ A 200-employee company faces about £124,000 in hidden costs per year.

→ Launching a Payroll Savings scheme could recoup £40,000-£70,000 or more in the first year.

→ At £1 per employee per month, scheme would 5-20 x ROI!

💡 Try our Payroll Savings ROI Calculator to find out how much your business could save

🛠 Getting the most out of Payroll Savings in your business

Payroll Savings is easy to setup and can be launched in just a few days. To maximise take up, and ROI, it’s important to be deliberate in how you launch it to your team, internally:

Lead from the top - visible leadership endorsement builds credibility.
Tell the human stories - anonymised examples of employees reaching savings goals engage hearts as well as minds.
Use our ready-made materials - Pre-built emails, posters, webinars, and PDFs with QR codes. Just hit send to start engaging your team.
Integrate into onboarding - make saving feel like the default from day one.
Measure & report impact – our dashboards track participation and savings growth from launch. Track productivity gains in parallel to keep leadership fully engaged.