Ailsa Johnston

01 June 2023

Employers


There is one benefit that is undergoing rapid expansion in adoption amongst HR teams and People functions across the UK in 2023, that is set to become a ‘must-have’ part of your benefits offering.

Adopting an EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme ticks the box of supporting the team with cost-of-living challenges, as well as offering a zero-cost, universal benefit with big environmental and ESG impacts as well.

So far, so good.

What this growth has done however is precipitate an explosion of providers for Salary Sacrifice Schemes for Electric Vehicles. Some of these are fantastic, and some are jumping on the latest bandwagon in the automotive space.

What is more, some providers’ schemes suit the huge 10,000 employee ‘enterprise’ organisations, whilst others are probably only suitable for businesses with less than 20 employees. Some are perhaps more appropriate for certain sectors, and price points/salary brackets.

So how to pick through the minefield and settle on who is the best UK EV salary sacrifice provider for you?

We’ve put together this guide to present who we recognise as the top firms in the UK providing salary sacrifice as a scheme just now, and what are the key differentiators between them.

We get it. We are not entirely un-biased here, but we’ve done our best to offer you a transparent approach to what we’ve found are the key differences between the schemes on offer, including ours.

What you need to consider before setting up an EV salary sacrifice scheme

Costs

First and foremost, you need to review if the scheme provider charges any fees, whether that be set up fees, admin fees, delivery fees or ‘per order’ fees. Many schemes suggest there are all sorts of “free” elements of their schemes (see Octopus Electric Vehicles’ “free charger”), but it’s important to check that zero cost to the employer really means zero cost.

Support

It is one thing offering a scheme to your team, but most HR & People teams, we find, aren’t looking for more things to add on to their ‘To Do’ list, especially if that includes running a company car fleet. So, it’s imperative you know what you’re getting after you have signed up to the scheme. Does the supplier offer any personal interaction with employees, or is the offering primarily online based? What about during the contract for the car? Is there a team in place offering proactive support to your payroll and compliance support for HR? Does the scheme have an affordability check since the employees won’t have a credit check.

What’s included

Not all salary sacrifice schemes are created equally, whether that be with regards to termination cover if employees leave, long-term sick cover, or what extras are included, for example, home charging points for the employee, or car insurance for partners and spouses.

What do all good schemes include?

  • All our comparisons offer salary sacrifice for Electric Vehicles, meaning employees can pay for their monthly car costs pre-tax, saving them significant amounts in income tax and national insurance contributions.
  • They all offer some form of termination insurance (although there can be significant differences between what is on offer, so do check the small print).
  • They are all regulated to offer financial services by the Financial Conduct Authority, with most of them directly regulated, whilst The Electric Car Scheme is an appointed representative (AR) of a dealership group holding company, Marshall Motors.
  • They all allow you to choose the car you want, detailing the exact colour and specification you prefer.
  • Most offer some form of home delivery for your new car (although many are outsourced to a gig economy third party driver, so check your car is being handed over by someone you’re comfortable with).

Comparison of employer features

  Love Electric Tusker Pike + Bambridge Octopus Electric Car Scheme WeVee
 
Type of Cars Electric only Electric for Salary Sacrifice Electric for Salary Sacrifice Electric only Electric only Electric only
Direct Manufacturer Relationships Limited number Yes Yes Yes No – through dealership group No
Cost to Business Zero Some set up fees Zero Zero Zero Zero
In-person Launch Event No 1000+ employees 30+ employees Driver days at central location No No
Early Termination Protection 3 months Yes 3 months 6 months Resignation: after 6 months Unknown
Employer Portal Yes Yes Yes – with extensive support No No No

Comparison of employee features

  Love Electric Tusker Pike + Bambridge Octopus Electric Car Scheme WeVee
 
Personal Consultation No No Yes – Detailed 1-1 EV and Salary Sacrifice Consultation No No No
Employee Dashboard Yes Limited Yes No No No
Personal Handovers to Drivers Outsourced Outsourced Yes – P+B Personal delivery professional Outsourced Outsourced Outsourced
Early Termination Protection 3 months Yes 3 months 6 months Resignation: after 6 months Unknown
Charge point install included Optional No Optional Always – price added on Optional Unknown

In summary, there are many providers, and we have only covered a few. If you are thinking about, or ready to introduce this benefit, you will want to ensure you choose a provider who not only supports you with the set up but can help ensure the scheme is fully compliant before offering a first-class launch to your employees. A great benefit deserves great engagement. If you would like to chat to one of our team at Pike and Bambridge about Salary Sacrifice, please get in touch here. We look forward to speaking with you.

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