Rewards Extra is the package of benefits available to all University of York employees

Rewards Extra includes savings on things such as childcare, transport, health cover as well as salary linked savings and loans plus discounts with hundreds of retailers.

With some benefits, you gain from tax savings made through salary exchange arrangements. With others, you have access to specially negotiated rates and offers.

Accessing employee benefits

Full details are available on the Rewards Extra platform, which is hosted by Hapi/Personal Group.

Access your Rewards Extra account by clicking the link below and entering your university username and password.

Access your Rewards Extra account

You can also download the free app to your mobile device by searching 'Hapi' on Google Play or the App Store. To log into the Hapi App, click on "Log in Using Work ID", enter company name "University of York" and log in using your university username and password.

Instructions for downloading and logging into the Rewards Extra app

What benefits are available through the platform?

As well as discounts with hundreds of high street retailers, you can also access the following benefits through the Rewards Extra platform:

  • Campus Nursery tax-free fees
  • If your child goes to the Campus Nursery, you can save money on the fees by paying through our Nursery Extra scheme.

    Nursery Extra is a salary sacrifice scheme: the University pays the fees for you, and your pay is reduced by the same amount. This means that less income tax and NICs are taken from your pay each month, so you save money.

  • Childcare vouchers
  • If you are already part of the University's childcare voucher scheme, you can make changes to or stop your voucher contributions through the benefits platform or app. Please note that the scheme has been closed to new joiners since October 2018.

    To see if you are eligible visit the Government's tax-free childcare scheme.

  • Critical illness cover
  • Critical Illness insurance is available through Canada Life. The insurance will provide a tax free pay out if you are diagnosed with, or have surgery for, one of the illnesses covered by the policy.

    In the event you are diagnosed with an illness, critical illness insurance can help to alleviate financial worries. With this cover it's up to you how you use the money. You may choose to pay off your mortgage, pay for specialist care or make changes to your home.

    Insurance is available in steps of £10,000 up to a maximum of £250,000 for both you and your partner.

  • Dental insurance
  • Dental cover from Simplyhealth (formerly known as Denplan) at discounted rates, paid directly from monthly salary. There are six different levels of cover available and you can choose to add your partner and/or children to your cover.

  • Health assessment
  • A health assessment can help to identify potential risks or problems and allow you to develop strategies to manage these. Bluecrest currently offers five different health assessments to University of York staff. Each is designed to address the concerns of people at different ages and with different lifestyles, allowing you to choose the level of evaluation that best suits you. Bluecrest offers high-quality health and wellbeing services, delivered through their network of over 2,000 clinics nationwide, or even at your home.

  • Health cash plan
  • Health cash plans provide an easy, affordable way to manage your money, safeguard the health and well-being of your family, and cover healthcare costs. Cover is through Medicash and premiums start from as little as £8.37 per month. In return you can claim money back for a wide range of healthcare bills. If you have a partner, you can upgrade your cover to include them. Up to four dependent children up to the age of 19, if in full time education, can also be covered at no extra cost.

  • Private medical insurance
  • Our private medical insurance is provided by BUPA. You can select from five different levels of cover, and choose to include your partner and/or children if you wish. BUPA Select offers you private medical insurance which covers the costs of your eligible treatment in the UK, up to the limits of your chosen cover, by BUPA recognised consultants, therapists and practitioners.

  • Bus season ticket loan
  • The University offers interest-free loans to members of staff to purchase the Your Bus 66 Annual Pass, allowing you to pay back the total cost of £345 for this ticket directly from your salary, over the course of 12 months.

  • Rail season ticket loan
  • The University funds the purchase of your annual season ticket by way of an interest free loan (up to a maximum annual value of £7,500), which you repay the loan in monthly instalments from your net salary (after tax and National Insurance have been deducted).

  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • Through the cycle to work scheme, you can order a Cyclescheme voucher to get a bike and additional safety equipment, worth up to £2,500 in total, through a salary exchange agreement with the University over a 12 month period. Because the Cyclescheme works on a salary exchange scheme where you can make savings on the cost of your bike through reduced tax and National Insurance contributions.

  • Employee discounts and offers
  • Through our employee rewards partner, Personal Group, you can access a range of discounts to help your money go further.

    • Save on your weekly shop with discounts at supermarkets such as Iceland, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose.
    • Benefit from special offers on days out and last minute holiday deals

    Check out the website regularly to see what's new and pick up great bargains.

  • Rental deposit scheme
  • The University provides an interest free loan to help you pay for a rental deposit when moving into a privately rented home. You repay the loan in twelve monthly instalments from your net salary (after tax and National Insurance have been deducted).

  • Salary linked savings and loans*
  • Saving and loan provision is delivered by Salary Finance. Salary Finance offers loans repaid through salary, simple savings accounts, money insights, and the government-back scheme Help to Save.

  • Workplace ISAs*
  • Cushon are workplace savings specialists, offering a range of ISA options. Cushon allows you an easy way to save and invest directly from your pay. There are a range of products to choose from and you can contribute as little as £10 per month to your chosen ISA.

    *IMPORTANT: These financial services are options and not recommendations. The University of York does not benefit from offering these services and, while both Salary Finance and Cushon can give you plenty of information about the options available to you, they do not offer regulated financial advice. Please seek independent financial advice.

  • Give as you earn
  • Donate to your favourite charity straight from your pay. Give As You Earn is an easy and tax-efficent way to support the causes you care about. This option is provided by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), and allows you to donate to the charity of your choice directly from your salary. This benefits both you and the charity:

    • Give more for less: payroll giving benefits from tax relief at your highest rate of income tax, so giving £1 costs a basic-rate taxpayer 80p and a higher-rate taxpayer only 60p
    • Help charities make the most of your gifts: regular income helps your charity to plan and reduces their administration costs
  • Pensions extra
  • Save money by making your pension contributions through our Pensions Extra salary exchange scheme - available to staff members in the USS or the University of York Pension Fund. If you are signed up to this scheme, the University pays your pension contributions on your behalf. Your contractual gross salary is reduced by the same amount. The pension contributions that the University makes are not subject to National Insurance contributions, saving you and the University money. You can opt in or out of this scheme via the Rewards Extra platform or app. We encourage you to visit the Rewards Extra platform or app for further information about employee eligibility.

Selection periods

The Rewards Extra platform is open all the time and selections run month to month. Any benefits that you select, amend or cancel during the current month will become effective for the following month's payroll. For example, if you sign up for Dental Insurance in January, your cover will become effective on February 1st, and you will also see your first deduction for this cover in your February payslip. Similarly, if you cancel a benefit in January, you will continue to pay for it and have access to it in January, but it will be cancelled from February 1st and you will not be charged in February payroll.

All benefits can be selected at any time, with the exception of Critical Illness. Critical Illness cover can be selected during the annual renewal window in September, or as the result of a valid lifestyle change (details are available on the Rewards Extra platform).