Use Case  ·  For the CHRO & Equity Admin

Bring ownership to every paycheck type, including the ones your ESPP can't reach today.


Traditional ESPPs require payroll deductions. The workforce most companies most want to reach, contract, hourly, gig, global, doesn't have that relationship. Managed Contributions by Carver Edison replaces payroll deductions with bank and card payments, so eligibility becomes a policy decision instead of a payroll constraint.

Reach Non-Payroll Workers V  /  VIII

The Problem

A growing share of the workforce - contractors, hourly, gig, cruise crew, globally distributed - sits outside the traditional payroll relationship. Companies that want to extend equity to those populations hit a structural wall: the ESPP itself was built on payroll deductions, and the payroll relationship isn't there.

01.

Payroll deduction is the only payment rail

Traditional ESPPs collect participant contributions through pre-tax or post-tax payroll deductions. Workers who don't run through W-2 payroll - contractors, agency hourly, gig, certain international populations - are structurally excluded from the plan, regardless of whether the company wants to include them.

02.

The excluded population is growing

Non-payroll workforces are expanding across most large employers - franchise networks, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, and global operations. The gap between who the company employs and who the ESPP can reach widens with every hire outside W-2.

03.

The workaround is manual and doesn't scale

Companies that try to extend equity to non-payroll populations end up with parallel processes - manual invoicing, separate contracts, bespoke administration. The lift is unsustainable and the experience for participants is second-class.

The Mechanism

Same plan. Bank and card payments instead of payroll deductions.

Traditional ESPPs require active payroll deductions, which makes the program legally and operationally available only to your W-2 workforce. Managed Contributions collects ACH and card payments directly from participants, replacing the payroll-deduction requirement entirely so the plan can extend to any employment relationship your company chooses to include.

Traditional ESPP

Payroll deduction is the only payment method. Contractors, hourly, gig, and global workers structurally excluded.

Payment methodPayroll deduction only
Contractors (1099)Excluded
Hourly & shift workersOften excluded
Global workforceWhere payroll runs
Cruise, warehouse, gigExcluded

Managed Contributions by Carver Edison

Bank and card payments replace payroll deductions entirely. Available to every employment relationship your company defines.

Payment methodACH, debit, card
Contractors (1099)Eligible
Hourly & shift workersEligible
Global workforce109 countries
Cruise, warehouse, gigEligible
Source: Managed Contributions. PCI-compliant payment collection for plan participation. Country coverage figure reflects Carver Edison's current installed base.

The Outcome

The scale you can reach.

Every employment relationship at your company can participate in the same plan - W-2, contractor, hourly, gig, or global - through the same payment mechanism.

Illustrative example

From 60% workforce coverage to 100%. Same plan.

For a 100,000-person workforce with 40% outside the W-2 payroll relationship.

Today

Workforce eligible for ESPP 60,000
Non-payroll workers reached 0
Payment rails W-2 payroll only
Coverage as a policy decision Blocked

With Carver Edison

Workforce eligible for ESPP 100,000
Non-payroll workers reached 40,000
Payment rails Bank account & card
Coverage as a policy decision Unblocked

Methodology: Managed Contributions replaces payroll deductions with bank account and card payments, so eligibility becomes a comp-philosophy decision instead of a payroll constraint. Contractors, hourly, gig, cruise crew, and globally distributed employees all participate in the same plan, on the same terms, through the same payment mechanism.

Related Outcomes

Reaching every worker is one lever. The same mechanism unlocks the rest.

See who your plan could include.

Book a 30-minute walkthrough with our team. We'll model the eligible non-payroll population at your company and the participation curve we'd expect.