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 can benefit from reduced travel costs by buying an annual season ticket and spreading the cost over 10 months. The Council will lend you the money to buy your ticket and the loan is free of interest or admin charges.
See the 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 hrservices@camden.gov.uk
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 hrservices@camden.gov.uk
See The Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme Guide for more information
For advice and support
An interest-free loan of up to £2,000 to help you cover the upfront cost of childcare fees – including deposit, admin and first month fees.
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 be determined based on both the:
We have developed a loan calculator to help you calculate the maximum loan you may be eligible for and repayment plan options. A template budget planner is also available to help you assess whether you can afford the monthly repayments after taking account of your other living costs and financial commitments.
You can apply by completing the Childcare Deposit Loan Scheme Application Form and emailing it to hrservices@camden.gov.uk
If you have any problems with the application form please contact hrservices@camden.gov.uk
See the Childcare Deposit Loan Scheme Guide for more information
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 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 hreuqueries@camden.gov.uk
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 apply for a corporate gym membership at Pancras Square leisure centre and almost all Better leisure centres across the UK. It will cost £43 per month or £516 per year from 1 April 2023. There is no joining fee.
You can apply to join the gym at any time during the month. Once your application has been received and approved we will set up your membership. Please note that your membership will not be automatically renewed each year and you will have to apply again.
Apply on the Better Gym Application Page
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 corporate@gll.org or hrservices@camden.gov.uk
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 25-39% on a bike and accessories. You pay nothing upfront and the payments are taken tax efficiently from your salary in twelve monthly instalments. You can take ownership of the bike and equipment through making a final payment, or if you prefer, you can continue hiring the bike by making a nominal, refundable payment.
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.
Find out more on the Simply Health website
0330 102 5325
customerservices@simplyhealth.co.uk
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 £4.25 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 sian.hewitt@cssc.co.uk
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, facilitated by our partners AVC Wise.
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, 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 £66.88
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 AVC Wise, please email support@avcwise.co.uk, call 01252 784 546 or visit www.avcwise.co.uk to use the live chat service.
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 HRServices@camden.gov.uk
For expert education and personal guidance about financial matters, contact Fluent 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, in order to help you cope and plan appropriately now and later-on in life.
To find out more please email teresa@fluentwm.co.uk or call 01959 561000 or to visit the Fluent 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 (EAP) provides practical help with life’s challenges, such as work-life balance and money management. You can also get emotional support from qualified counsellors.
Support is free, confidential, available 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year – and can be accessed by you and your family members.
To get support
Connect to experts instantly, book an appointment and/or browse self-help resources Register on the app using the company passcode ‘59909’
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 Thade provides one-to-one counselling support. She:
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
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 to 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.
If you need advice or someone impartial to talk to:
