Serve and Protect Credit Union have teamed up with Derbyshire Constabulary to help raise awareness to the impact of gambling and problem related debt in the workplace.

No matter your job role – everyone can play their part to help ‘spot the signs’ and support their fellow colleagues if they are suffering.

Gambling is estimated to be the cause of 500 suicides in the UK a year.

“Since the start of lockdown we have seen a rapid increase in the use of gambling and high interest credit on the loan applications we receive – over 1 in 4 applicants were gambling over £50 per month, with the average monthly gambling spend £214.

As a credit union we will do our utmost to help support our members, but as responsible lenders in these cases we are simply unable to help. As a result, we have established key partnerships with charities such as StepChange and GamCare to help ensure our members get the additional support they may need.

We are also working with our stakeholders, such as Derbyshire Constabulary, to ensure that as employers, they have additional access to any existing support mechanisms they already have in place.” says Rob Lovesey, Serve and Protect.

As part of this initiative the a ‘Spot the Signs’ webinar is available for colleagues with Derbyshire Constabulary to access including:

• ‘Spot the Signs’ of excessive gambling behaviour.
• The impact of problem related debt.
• Support that is available.

Access the webinar today via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WngcRFhaHg

Serve and Protect (formerly Police CU) is a free employee benefit available to Officers and Staff within Derbyshire Constabulary. They are here to help you save, but also there if you need to borrow with repayments straight from your pay.

Since the start of lockdown, they have lent over £11million to help their members save money on their existing loan repayments – such as payday loans or credit cards. They have also recently paid a 1.2% return on their Regular Saver.

You can learn more or join today for free via: www.serveandprotectcu.co.uk