Everyone is likely to need a bit of extra help as the cost of living continues to rise. We want to make sure that all of our staff are able to get help and support whenever they need it.
This guide provides information on the support available to Camden Council employees, along with links to other sources of information and advice.
Find information on:
You could receive help to purchase an annual travel ticket and benefit from reduced travel costs. This loan will need to be paid back over 10 months. You may be eligible if:
See the Season Ticket Loan Scheme Guide for more information.
You can apply by filling out the Season Ticket Loan application form and emailing it to people&[email protected].
If you have any problems with the application form or queries about the scheme, email people&[email protected].
You could receive up to £3,000 to help you pay a tenancy deposit. This will need to be paid back over a maximum of 10 months. You may be eligible if:
If you are moving into a flat share, the amount of the loan will only cover the amount of the deposit that you are responsible for. The amount requested must be no higher than this.
The amount agreed will be based on:
You can apply by completing the Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme application form and emailing it to people&[email protected].
For advice and support
You could receive up to £2,000 to help you cover the upfront cost of childcare fees including deposit, administration and first month fees. This will need to be paid back over a maximum of 10 months.
The loan amount will only cover the fees that you are responsible for. The amount requested must be no higher than this.
The amount agreed will be based on the:
See the Childcare Deposit Loan Scheme Guide for more information.
You can apply by completing the Childcare Deposit Loan Scheme Application Form and emailing it to people&[email protected].
If you have any problems with the application form contact people&[email protected].
Through Tax Free Childcare you can get up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the cost of childcare.
Find out more about tax-free childcare on Gov.uk
You can apply for a corporate gym membership at Pancras Square leisure centre and almost all Better leisure centres across the UK. It will cost £46 per month or £552 per year from 1 April 2025. There is no joining fee.
Find details of membership options and apply on the Better Gym website.
You will need to select your home centre (in the borough of Camden), and enter your payroll number. Please enter your personal details, and accept both Better and LBC terms and conditions
Please read the following terms and conditions to check if you are eligible for a loan and can agree to abide by the conditions of the scheme.
Employees paid directly by the Council may apply for a loan to pay for annual membership of the gym provided:
Any outstanding balance on the loan will immediately become repayable without notice and will be offset against salary, pensions benefits or any other termination payments due if:
For details, contact [email protected] or people&[email protected].
You could receive up to £5,000 to help you pay for British Citizenship or Indefinite Leave to Remain application fees, for you and your dependents.
This could also be used for the payment of the healthcare surcharge to the UK Visas & Immigration Service.
You can apply for loan of up to £5,000, but the amount requested must be no higher than that required to pay the relevant fees and surcharges. The actual value of the loan agreed will also be determined based on:
You can use our loan calculator to check the maximum loan you may be eligible for and repayment plan options. A template budget planner is also available to help you see whether you can afford the monthly repayments after taking account of your other living costs and financial commitments.
You can apply by completing the Immigration Loan Scheme Application Form and emailing it to [email protected]
For more information see the Immigration loan Scheme Guide
The London Capital Credit Union makes it simple to borrow money at low rates and to build savings for the future. As a credit union, they are a non-profit organisation that exists to serve the community.
The scheme offers loans of up to £25,000 above savings starting from an interest rate of 2.9% per year. They also offer small loans to help until payday.
If you are a member of the old Camden Credit Union you can still join London Capital Credit Union
When you apply to join the Camden Capital Credit Union, payroll will make the deduction from your salary (after tax) and pay it directly to the credit union each month.
Find out more about the differences between a credit union and a bank
Visit the London Capital Credit Union website to join
You can get tax-free help with the cost of buying a bike and cycling equipment through our cycle to work scheme. The scheme is administered by a company called Cyclescheme.
Cycle to Work is a salary sacrifice scheme that saves you up to 42% on a bike and accessories.
Find out more on the Cyclescheme website.
A range of discounts are available for all staff on the Kaarp website
Login using the username ‘camden’ and password ‘benefits’.
With a plan from Simply Health you can get face-to-face check-ups or appointments, 24/7 telephone access to a GP and counsellor as well as cashback on medical expenses such as dental care, chiropody, physiotherapy and hospital admission etc.
To find out more, and to get a discounted health plan telephone and say that you are a Camden Employee: 0330 102 5335
The Extras discounts scheme gives you savings of up to 10% on gift cards, eGifts and gift card top ups for over 100 brands and 60 different retailers. Extras discounts can be used to save money on everything from the weekly food shop and eating out, to travel and entertainment.
bYond is a prepaid shopping card that gives you up to 15% cashback every time you shop at over 80 popular retailers, in-store and online.
Create an account and request a card - visit the bYond account registration page to create your free Blackhawk Network Extras account, choose bYond and pay the £5 annual card fee.
Add money to bYond card to spend - you’ll receive your new bYond card in the post. Activate it online or via the bYond app. You can then add money onto your card and spend it in-store or online at over 80 high street retailers, restaurants and supermarkets.
Earn up to 15% back - with every transaction, you’ll earn a percentage of the amount you spend. This is automatically added to your bYond account 30 days later. Choose to save your cashback earnings or add to your bYond card to spend it.
You’ll receive your new bYond card in the post. Activate it online or via the bYond app. You can then add money onto your card and spend it in-store or online at over 80 high street retailers, restaurants and supermarkets.
With every transaction, you’ll earn a percentage of your spend back. This is automatically added to your bYond account 30 days later. Choose to save your cashback earnings or load onto your bYond card ready to spend.
CSSC is a not–for–profit membership established in 1921 which is available to all staff including contract, agency and temps for just £4.99 a month. Benefits include, fun days out & exclusive discounts.
Theme parks, wildlife parks, wildfowl and wetland centres, theatre shows and popular attractions nationwide.
Savings include car, home, health and travel insurance. As well as Vitality health and life insurance cover reward offers. Switch and save energy supplier. Sytner affinity new and used vehicles. Healthy Pets insurance 20% off. Mobile, Laptop or Tablets cover, 10%. Keycare insurance from £18 a year.
Discounts at over 3,000 health clubs, leisure centres and gyms.
Saving include, supermarkets, high street shops, online shopping, days out, spa breaks. MySavings+ online ticket store for attractions, holidays and Ticketmaster.
For further information please contact Sian Hewitt [email protected]
Go to the CSSC website to join over 160,000 public sector members.
The Camden Council Theatre Club is a service for staff to help book tickets to London theatre - and save money. The Theatre Club features discounts and special offers to a wealth of West End musicals, plays, entertainment shows and attractions in London.
The Theatre Club is powered by WestendTheatre.com, the website for London’s West End Theatres.
There is a big sale running across around 60 shows, with savings on some great musicals and plays in the West End and Off West End.
If you're a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), you have access to a valuable staff benefit - a Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contribution (SCAVC) scheme, administered by our partners My Money Matters.
Shared Cost AVCs are a cost-efficient way to top up your pension pot, providing flexibility, security and value. Not only will you benefit from the available Income Tax and National Insurance contributions savings, but you’ll also have the option to amend your contribution amounts as and when you need to.
The Income Tax and National Insurance contributions savings mean that in a SCAVC a £100 contribution will cost a basic rate taxpayer just £72.08
Register today to learn more about Shared Cost AVCs.
Once registered, you'll have access to a wide range of tools to help you retire early and/or with more money. These include:
To contact My Money Matters:
You will be able to register for an online account with the Prudential in order to review your funds, however any changes or cancellations you want to make to your plan should always be made on the My Money Matters portal.
We have partnered with HSBC to give you access to free financial wellbeing webinars. To register your interest or find out about future webinars please contact people&[email protected].
For expert education and personal guidance about financial matters, contact Forbes for all financial advice needs, including personal, one-to-one planning appointments with a qualified, experienced financial adviser.
We offer bespoke educational seminars throughout the year to help you understand finance and what to think about, to help you cope and plan appropriately now and later on in life.
To find out more please email [email protected] or call 01892 527494 or to visit the Forbes website.
We want to highlight a support service called MoneyHelper which is supported by three government-backed financial guidance providers: the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise.
It's open to everyone and aims to cut through the complexity, explaining simply what you need to do and how you can do it. MoneyHelper joins up money and pensions guidance to make it quicker and easier to find the right help.
The website has a wide range of guides and tools for all areas of your life. You can get free guidance on:
Your mental health and wellbeing is one of our biggest priorities and looking after each other has never been more important.
If you are feeling down, worried or anxious please know that help is available.
Our Employee Assistance Programme offers you counselling and advice on a variety of personal or workplace issues. The service is paid for by Camden and is provided by an independent mental health company - Wellbeing Solutions. There is no cost to you and all calls are confidential. Whatever your age, background or role in life, from time to time we all have problems – whether personal, family, or work-related. Talking to a counsellor or an advisor can help you understand a problem, try a different approach or just learn how to cope with a situation.
The service available to Camden employees and their family members who are over 16 and living at same address.
Online
Website: https://www.employeeassistance.org.uk/
Access Code: CamdenEmployee
By phone
UK Phone: 080 0328 1437
International phone: +44 (0) 1482 661 814
Able Futures provide a wide range of first-class mental health support services delivered by qualified health care professionals. They will listen to you to understand any difficulties you are experiencing and create an individual plan of support.
To get support
We recognise that many of you are continuing to deal with a whole range of issues and emotions related to trauma – from grief, loss and burnout, to the impact of racial and other types of trauma which may have been reignited by the increased spotlight on the injustice so many of our colleagues continue to face.
Our Trauma Informed Coaching and Counselling support is specifically aimed at supporting colleagues affected by trauma in all its forms. This is in addition to our existing Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Support is available for all Camden colleagues. You do not need approval from your manager to access it, and your details will not be shared with your manager or any other member of staff. To get support:
Rebecca-Monique provides coaching support for:
As a coach, Rebecca-Monique acts as a guide and there must be a commitment from the client to ‘do the work’. To Find out more about Rebecca-Monique visit Rebecca-Monique’s website and Listen to her weekly podcast, Passing Thoughts
Rebecca-Monique delivers 60-minute coaching sessions (virtual and face-to-face) every Thursday. These are capped at four unless Rebecca-Monique, together with the client, feels an additional two sessions are required.
Book your session with Rebecca-Monique
Note: Before booking a session with Rebecca-Monique, you’ll need to create an account using your Camden email address to gain access to the Camden Members space.
Jai delivers 45-minute sessions (virtual) every Wednesday. This may be a one-off session or ongoing support, depending on your needs.
Book your session with Jai Thade
Himali provides emotional support to people experiencing anxiety, depression, low self-esteem/confidence, racial trauma, work/career paralysis, mid-life emotional distress and a range of other emotionally distressing experiences.
Sessions with Himali will:
• provide a safe, supportive and confidential relationship for you to share your emotional experiences
• help you manage any symptoms of anxiety and stress
• help you gain clarity about what you are experiencing
• facilitate your process of identifying your boundaries/values and expressing your needs at work and outside.
Himali offers up to four 50-minute online emotional support sessions. If it is mutually agreed that more sessions are needed, an option of a further two sessions can be discussed.
Sessions will take place on Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons via Zoom.
Cory offers one-to-one counselling sessions with a person-centred ethos. He believes that therapy is a two-way relationship and there is no one-size-fits all. It's important for him to step 'into your shoes' and understand things from your point of view. From here, you can begin to understand unhelpful behaviour patterns, process the impact of past experiences and create the foundations of a better future.
Cory's particular areas of interest include; identity, anxiety, parenthood, relationships, communication, men's issues and increasing confidence.
Cory offers up to 4 x 50-minute sessions (online), with a limited number of additional sessions if we each feel that this is necessary.
Sessions are usually weekly or bi-weekly, though this is flexible depending on your requirements and subject to availability.
Zena Uyiekpen is a skilled counsellor dedicated to providing empathetic, nonjudgmental support to clients from diverse backgrounds. As a registered member of the BACP, Zena offers high-quality, person-centred counselling services. With over five years of experience, she has supported individuals with challenges such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, eating disorders, and trauma.
Zena excels in building strong therapeutic relationships, offering culturally sensitive care, and fostering a safe, inclusive environment. At In Diverse Company, she is committed to supporting the emotional well-being and personal growth of clients, particularly those from marginalised groups. Passionate about helping others navigate their mental health journeys, Zena strives to make a positive impact in the lives of those she counsels.
Zena offers 4-6 sessions of 50 minutes each, delivered online via MS Teams, with a limited number of additional sessions if necessary. Sessions are available on Wednesday afternoons at 3pm, 4pm, and 6pm, with a limited number of evening sessions available upon request.
If you are feeling down or desperate, it’s important that you tell someone. You do not have to struggle with difficult feelings alone. If you feel like you are at risk of harming yourself or others, or if you are struggling to function on a day-to-day basis, please know that help is available from professionals who are trained to support you. You can also contact these people/places if you are worried about someone else:
If you are concerned about your mental health you can contact your GP. They can help you access a range of support including medication and talking therapies. This Find the Words guide gives you advice on how to talk to your GP about your mental health.
These online services can help you find other people who are experiencing the same things as you. Finding people who understand what you’re going through can help in times when you are feeling vulnerable.
James’ Place provide face to face therapeutic support for men in suicidal crisis.
If you need advice or someone impartial to talk to:
We are a committed anti-racist organisation with a zero-tolerance approach to racism and discrimination in all its forms. Creating reporting routes that feel safe and that you can trust continues to be a big priority for us.
We encourage all staff to report any discrimination you may see, hear or experience at work to us – and there are lots of ways to do this. You can:
Risksured will collect information from you and report back to HR colleagues to enable us to take appropriate action in response. You can make a report online or call 0117 450 1227. Telephone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
We recognise that not everyone will feel able to report using the routes listed above – and that’s why we are currently piloting a new approach to reporting discrimination at work.
Our new Reporting Discrimination Hub offers a safe and supportive listening space for you to talk about what has happened, to support you to understand the options available and to help you decide what to do next.
The hub is made up of a diverse group of staff from across our organisation – known as hub members – with a variety of lived experiences, skills and expertise.
You can book a 40-minute conversation with a hub member of your choice.
You can decide whether to have this conversation online (on Microsoft Teams), over the telephone or face-to-face at our Reporting Discrimination Hub space at the Crowndale Centre.
Appointments are available between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
You can book an appointment by:
You must make an appointment before visiting the Hub. If you need to speak with someone urgently, you can call the Hub and select the 'emergency' option on the online booking form.
Our Reporting Discrimination Hub members have been selected carefully by a thorough and inclusive recruitment process. They are supportive, non-judgemental, discreet, non-advisory, balanced, open-minded and all of them have some degree of lived experience. They come from various backgrounds and are representative of our organisation.
Our hub members are there to listen, signpost available support, report the discrimination you have experienced and talk to you about the different options available to you. They are not there to give you HR advice.
You can book an appointment with a hub member by:
Project Manager, Family Hubs, Adults and Health
”I am a Project Manager working in the Strategy Team. I hold a keen interest in helping others. I have experienced forms of discrimination within my professional career and personal life, and see the value in providing staff with a space to report instances like this, in a forum that is non-judgmental and supportive. I’m looking forward to being part of the pilot as part of Camden’s continued commitment to championing equity and diversity.”
YOS Case Manager, Children and Learning
“Hi I’m Nikki Austin and I work in the Youth Justice Service. I wanted to be part of something that looks to support people and gives greater opportunity to tackle discrimination. I am most looking forward to being part of a pilot, being able to help shape a valuable provision in Camden and have an input on what it could look like in the future. I am looking forward to making a difference to someone, even if in a tiny way.”
Senior Policy and Projects Officer, Supporting Communities
“I’m Helene from the Camden Accessible Transport Solutions (CATS) team. I’m excited to be part of the Hub and to bring my skills and experiences to help create a safer and more inclusive environment in Camden. With two years of volunteering for the Women and Girls Network Adviceline and Sexual Violence Helpline, I’ve gained valuable experience in providing both emotional and practical support to those facing difficult situations.”
Family Worker, Children and Learning
“My name is Sharmina, I work in the Early help team with families in Camden. I joined the hub because I am passionate about supporting colleagues to have their voice heard and finding creative approaches to do this so that they can thrive in their field. I am looking forward to meeting different colleagues and supporting them to find solutions to complex challenges at work.”
Housing Investigations Manager, Supporting Communities
“I’m Damian and I have worked at Camden for 5 years and currently manage the Housing Investigations Team that deal with all aspects of Social Housing fraud. I have a background in Policing, Community safety and Public protection across London. Hopefully I can offer an ear to listen to matters that affect you and be able to signpost you further? I am involved with the Irish in Camden group and consider myself an ally alongside all the other Groups and Networks in Camden.”
Senior Policy and Project Officer, Adults and Health
“I am committed to supporting my colleagues and peers with their wellbeing and this includes supporting them to manage issues around discrimination at work. I have worked at Camden for 14 years in different departments. I think the Discrimination Hub can provide a safe space for colleagues to reach out to and have someone with relatable experience to provide empathy and understanding.”
Senior Service Designer, Corporate Services>
“Even though there’s a lot out there about antidiscrimination, it can still be difficult to find the right words and say exactly why something someone did made you feel inferior, dismissed, or insulted. Having experienced this feeling myself and seen how similar instances have constantly chipped away the confidence of others, I am grateful to contribute to this hub.”
Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocate, Children and Learning
“My name is Abigail and I work in Camden Safety Net, providing support and advocacy to people who are experiencing domestic abuse and/or sexual violence. I have previously worked in other roles related to Gender Based Violence and in mental health services. I know that discrimination and abusive behaviour in the workplace has multiple and significant negative effects. I am committed to supporting colleagues accessing the Reporting Discrimination Hub and look forward to forming new connections and learning new things in this role.”
Complaints Officer, Corporate Services
“My name is Safia Mohamed and I am member of the Corporate Complaints Team. I understand the difficulty in tackling discriminatory behaviour both in the workplace and in everyday life and how challenging or daunting it can be, so it’s important that both support and guidance are readily available and easily accessible for our colleagues. I look forward to working in the discrimination hub, helping colleagues can feel supported and empowered to speak up about discrimination they experience.”
Community Safety Enforcement Officer, Supporting Communities
“Hi I’m Sean. I work as a Community Safety Enforcement Officer for Camden Council. I believe that everyone in the workplace should be treated equally and allowed the opportunity to grow. The workplace should be a pleasant, peaceful environment, where hard work and harmony goes hand in hand. Anyone who feels under pressure or victimised at work should have the opportunity to speak out and be heard. I look forward to helping those who need help.”