Earned Wage Access for Employers FAQ
What happened to Clair Spending Accounts?
Clair will be closing all existing Clair Spending and Savings Accounts. Clair is offering free instant transfer to move money out of any existing Clair Spending and Savings Accounts through January 9, 2025. As a reminder, January 9th is the last date users will be able to spend funds within their account via physical/online debit card purchases, ACHs, and instant transfers. Employees carrying a balance on or after January 13 will be issued a final check to their address on file within 45 days of account closure.
What is Clair?
TriNet HR Platform Payroll has integrated with Clair, a financial platform offering embedded Earned Wage Access (EWA) to offer employees access to a portion of their earned wages before their regularly scheduled payday. HR Platform customers that purchase Payroll and actively use Time & Attendance can offer Clair On-Demand Pay to employees at no additional cost.
How does Clair work?
Employees can sign up for Clair On-Demand Pay by clicking on the Clair Banner within the HR Platform web portal or mobile app.
After following instructions to connect their personal bank account to Clair, eligible employees will have the option to receive access to a portion of their earned wages before their regularly scheduled payday for free through standard 1-3 day ACH transfers.
Clair also offers an option for instant access to a portion of earned wages for $4.50 per transaction.2 Clair states that earned wages are typically provided within less than 3 minutes.
The amount that is can be accessed before payday is determined on an individual basis and subject to change, depending on many factors such as the hours worked at eligible employers and the pay rate reported by the employer.
When employers process payroll normally, Clair automatically deducts from the employee’s designated account the amount of wages accessed by the employee before their regularly scheduled payday.
How is HR Platform connected to Clair?
HR Platform built an integration with Clair to report time & attendance, payroll and wage-rate related data to Clair. With an employee’s consent, this data is shared with Clair and used to determine the amount of earned wages made available to an employee for access before their regularly scheduled payday.
How does Clair affect an employer’s payroll?
There is no impact to the payroll processing actions when offering or repaying On-Demand Pay. Clair is free for employers to offer, with no impacts to payroll processing actions. Clair handles all servicing of On-Demand Pay and assumes any losses.
Do HR Platform customers have to sign up for Clair?
No – Clair is included with HR Platform Payroll for customers actively using Time & Attendance. A customer is notified via email before Clair is activated in their HR Platform instance and given the choice to opt-out. If the HR Platform customer does not opt out, their eligible full-time and part-time employees will see the option to sign up for EWA within their dashboard, new hire flow, timesheet, paycheck stub and scheduling app, as applicable. Eligible HR Platform customers can opt out or opt back into Clair at any time after implementation.
Clair is a third party offering. TriNet encourages clients to consult with their attorneys and tax advisors about the potential impact of using Clair.
How do HR Platform customers opt out of Clair before/after launch?
After Clair is launched, HR Platform customers can opt out following these instructions:
- Go to your TriNet HR Platform admin dashboard
- Click ‘Clair’ under Apps
- Click ‘Disconnect’
The same steps can be followed to opt back into Clair at any time.
Which employees are eligible to sign up for Clair through HR Platform?
To be eligible for Clair On-Demand Pay, employees must meet the following requirements:
- Full-time or part-time employee employed by an employer using HR Platform Payroll and Time and Attendance product that have not opted out of Clair.
- Must have a valid Social Security Number, be employed in the U.S., and reside in a state where Clair operates.*
- Must be 18 years of age or older.
- Must have a personal bank account that consistently receives direct deposit from your employer’s payroll with at least one paycheck deposited in the last 30 days.
Note: Clair states it is actively working to expand its can product in all 50 states. Currently, Clair does not operate in Nevada, Connecticut, New Mexico, South Dakota, Minnesota, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado, or Montana. Visit the Clair website for the latest information.
Is Clair only available for hourly employees?
No, Clair is available for both hourly and salaried employees. See additional criteria employees must meet to access Clair <LINK TO QUESTION: Which employees are eligible to sign up for Clair through HR Platform?
How much of their earned wages can employees access before their regularly scheduled payday and how are taxes and deductions accounted for?
Employees can only access a portion of their actual earned wages, up to a limit per pay period. This portion is determined by Clair using an algorithm, with a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $200. (This is subject to eligibility requirements and the amount may change in the future).
Clair calculates On-Demand Pay based on gross wages to help employees avoid accessing more than they’ve earned.
Do time & attendance hours need to be approved for employees to use Clair?
No, time & attendance hours do not need to be approved for employees to request early access to earned wages for those hours. If changes are made to an employee’s timesheet after the employee has completed an EWA transaction, and that amount exceeds what should have been made available to them, Clair will deduct the outstanding amount from the next paycycle.
What happens if an employee quits and does not pay back?
In the event an employee uses Clair On-Demand Pay and then quits without returning the amount, Clair may deduct from their designated bank account or will bear that loss. Clair assumes all the risk and there is no obligation to the employers.
How much do employers pay to offer Clair on HR Platform?
There is no additional cost for employers to offer Clair. It’s included with Payroll on HR Platform for customers actively using Time & Attendance.
How much do employees pay for Earned Wage Access powered by Clair?
Clair On-Demand Pay is free for employees through standard ACH transactions, which can take up to 1-3 days to complete. For employees wanting instant access to earned wages, Clair will charge a fee of $4.50 per transaction.2
How do my employees sign up for Clair within HR Platform?
Employees can sign up for Clair On-Demand Pay by clicking on the Clair Banner within the HR Platform web portal or mobile app.
After following instructions to connect their personal bank account to Clair, employees will be eligible to access a portion of their earned wages before their regularly scheduled payday for free through standard ACH transactions. If the employee wants instant access to their earned wages, Clair will charge a fee of $4.50 per transaction.2
Where can I access additional support for Earned Wage Access powered by Clair?
For HR Platform customers, contact employersupport@getclair.com.
For customer employees using Clair through HR Platform, contact support via email at support@getclair.com.