Strand C — Debt + Crisis Signposting Decision Tree
A4 printable tree + DOCX escalation log. The defining promise of Strand C: no employee in a money crisis waits longer than one working day to speak to a trained coach who has this tree in their hand. No EAP delivers this. The 24h SLA is the moat.
The 24h SLA — what it actually means
When a learner (or their line manager, with consent) flags a money crisis via the platform "I need help today" button OR a coach surfaces one mid-session:
| Hour | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0 | Flag captured. MEM PL + on-call coach notified. |
| ≤ 4 working hours | On-call coach contacts learner via preferred channel. |
| ≤ 24 working hours | First 30-min triage session held. Signposting completed in-call (not after). |
| ≤ 48 working hours | Warm-handoff confirmed (learner has spoken to the regulated body OR has appointment booked). |
| ≤ 5 working days | Follow-up session (30 min) — was the handoff useful, what next. |
Crisis cases are NEVER held by MEM alone past the 48h warm-handoff.
The decision tree (A4 printable)
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Learner flags money crisis │
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
│
┌────────────────▼────────────────┐
│ Is there an IMMEDIATE │
│ safeguarding signal? │
│ (suicidal · DV · slavery) │
└─────┬───────────────────┬───────┘
YES NO
│ │
┌─────────────▼────────┐ │
│ STOP money work. │ │
│ Samaritans 116 123 │ │
│ SEA 0808 1968845 │ │
│ MS 08000 121 700 │ │
│ + EAP + GP │ │
│ Notify MEM PL. │ │
└──────────────────────┘ │
│
┌─────────────────────────▼───────────────────┐
│ Is action threatened in next 72 hours? │
│ (eviction · disconnection · bailiff) │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────┬───────┘
YES NO
│ │
┌───────────────────────────▼─────────────┐ │
│ EMERGENCY pathway │ │
│ · Breathing Space — request via │ │
│ StepChange / National Debtline today │ │
│ · Priority creditor: contact direct, │ │
│ request hardship procedure │ │
│ · Local council Homelessness Prevention│ │
│ · Shelter England 0808 800 4444 │ │
│ · Citizens Advice — same-day │ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│
┌─────────────────────────────────────▼────┐
│ Is the problem DEBT (multiple/unmanaged)│
│ OR INCOME (benefits/wages/entitlement)? │
└─────────┬──────────────────────┬─────────┘
DEBT INCOME
│ │
┌─────────────────────▼─────┐ ┌───────────▼──────────────┐
│ Free, FCA-regulated │ │ Benefits + entitlement │
│ · StepChange │ │ · Turn2us calculator │
│ · National Debtline │ │ · EntitledTo │
│ · Citizens Advice │ │ · MoneyHelper │
│ · MoneyHelper │ │ · Citizens Advice │
│ │ │ · Local council Welfare │
│ NEVER: paid debt-mgmt │ │ Rights team │
│ firms, "we'll write off │ │ │
│ your debt" ads, loan │ │ NEVER: paid "benefits │
│ consolidation cold-calls │ │ application" services │
└───────────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────┘
(Designer renders this as a clean decision tree graphic for A4 print. Source intent above.)
The 8 routing buckets — in detail
1. Safeguarding overrides (always first)
- Suicidal ideation / active self-harm → Samaritans 116 123, GP, EAP, A&E. Stop money work. Document. Notify MEM PL EOD.
- Domestic / financial abuse → Surviving Economic Abuse 0808 1968845, refuge.org.uk, Women's Aid Live Chat. Document. Notify MEM PL.
- Modern slavery / forced-labour debt → Modern Slavery Helpline 08000 121 700. Document. Notify MEM PL.
2. Eviction in next 72h
- Renting: Shelter England 0808 800 4444 (free, Mon–Fri 8am–5pm), council Homelessness Prevention team
- Mortgage: lender hardship procedure FIRST, then StepChange
- Breathing Space: apply via StepChange / National Debtline — 60-day legal protection from action
- Council Tax arrears: ask council for hardship payment plan; CTR check via Turn2us
3. Utility disconnection threatened
- Energy: Priority Services Register (eligible if vulnerable), Citizens Advice consumer line 0808 223 1133, supplier hardship fund (every major supplier has one), British Gas Energy Trust grants
- Water: WaterSure scheme (cap on bill if eligible), water company social tariffs
- Broadband: social tariffs from most major providers (Sky, BT, Virgin)
- Mobile: speak to supplier hardship team — most have one
4. Bailiff / enforcement action
- Citizens Advice bailiff line (advice on dealing with bailiffs)
- National Debtline 0808 808 4000
- Breathing Space — bailiff action MUST stop once granted
- NEVER advise the learner not to engage; engagement is always safer than avoidance
5. Multiple / unmanaged debt
- StepChange 0800 138 1111 — most cases route here; they're free, FCA-authorised, charity
- National Debtline 0808 808 4000 — same role, different door
- Citizens Advice — face-to-face option
- MoneyHelper — for early-stage cases that may not need full debt advice yet
- NEVER a paid debt-management firm, loan consolidation cold call, "we can write off your debt" ad
6. Benefits + entitlement gap
- Turn2us turn2us.org.uk/get-support/benefits-calculator — first stop
- EntitledTo entitledto.co.uk — second opinion
- MoneyHelper moneyhelper.org.uk — for clarification on rules
- Citizens Advice — for help with claims and appeals
- Local council Welfare Rights team — for in-depth, in-person help
7. Pension / mortgage / investment regulated questions
ALL of these are regulated advice. MEM coach STOPS and routes:
- MoneyHelper pension guidance moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement — free, government-backed, can give guidance not advice
- Pension Wise (50+ with DC pension) — free pension guidance from MoneyHelper
- Qualified IFA for advice — unbiased.co.uk, vouchedfor.co.uk
- Mortgage broker — independent, fee-free brokers via L&C or Habito
8. Scam / fraud
- Action Fraud 0300 123 2040 — report
- Citizens Advice Scams Action 0808 250 5050
- Bank's fraud line — most banks have a 24/7 number on the back of the card
- Stop Scams 159 — short-code to your bank from any UK landline/mobile to check a transaction live
The escalation log (DOCX template)
Every 24h SLA case logs:
| Field | |
|---|---|
| Case ID | Auto |
| Date + time flag captured | |
| Channel (button / coach / manager) | |
| Coach assigned | |
| Hours to first contact | |
| Hours to first triage session | |
| Routing bucket (1–8 above) | |
| Bodies signposted to | |
| Warm-handoff confirmed (date · time) | |
| Follow-up session completed (date) | |
| Outcome at +30 days | (case closed · ongoing · escalated to safeguarding) |
Logs reviewed monthly by Head of Coaching for:
- SLA compliance (≥ 95% within 24h is the target)
- Routing pattern (most common bucket; over- or under-used routes)
- Any case that escalated to safeguarding — root-cause review
What this strand is NOT
- A substitute for FCA-regulated debt advice — we route TO it, fast
- A 24/7 service — the SLA is 24 working hours, and Samaritans + 116 123 cover anything before that
- A guarantee of outcome — we guarantee speed of contact and quality of signposting, never the outcome of the regulated route
- A debt-collection or recovery service — we never act on behalf of a creditor
Cross-cutting promise Every UK employee seat in MEM funds a free seat for someone leaving prison — and the 24h SLA applies equally to the justice-leaver pathway. The first 24 hours after release are the highest-risk financial window; this is the protocol that holds it. memacademy.org/corporate/financial-wellbeing-employees