Five reasons an EV salary sacrifice scheme is an easy win for your business

You’ve probably heard the buzz about EV salary sacrifice schemes, and it’s normal to wonder whether they actually deliver. 

For a lot of businesses, they do. But like any benefit, it depends on your setup, your workforce, and what you’re trying to achieve. 

So, let’s put the hype aside for a minute and break down the five benefits that tend to matter most in the real world.

• Free
• Easy to manage
• Employees love it
• Sustainable
• Low-risk and flexible

The first thing you’ll probably ask is, “What’s this going to cost us?” 

Setting up our EV salary sacrifice scheme doesn’t require any upfront spend from your business. There are no admin fees, no contribution towards the cars, and no minimum number of vehicles you need to commit to.

The monthly payments come from your employees’ pre-tax salaries. In some situations, like long-term leave, you might temporarily cover payments, but those are credited back. So in practice, most businesses can offer the scheme without increasing their benefits budget.

Of course, “no cost” doesn’t mean “no considerations”. You’ll still want to check how it works with your payroll and internal approvals processes. But from a pure setup and running-cost perspective, it’s designed to be totally free for employers.

Which, in the world of employee benefits, is pretty rare.

Next, you might be thinking: “Will this eat up hours of HR time?” 

Actually, no. It’s super easy to set up; we’ll do most of the leg-work for you. And it stays that simple forever, with most payroll teams spending just a couple of minutes per employee each month managing our scheme. 

We provide clear reports through our HR portal, breaking down the costs per employee, so all you need to do is adjust their net salaries. And there’s no need to become an EV expert overnight: we give you guides, support, and real humans to talk to if anything gets tricky.

Just ask Lucy, Global Senior Manager, People Operations at WPP. “The launch was fantastic; there was no pain at all from start to finish,” she says. “The people our employees speak to are very helpful, and the portal's really easy to use. It’s super straightforward.”

So, if you dislike admin as much as we do, it’s a great benefit to go for. 

You already know that replacing people is expensive. Recruitment takes time, onboarding takes effort, and productivity rarely bounces back overnight.

One of the quieter benefits of EV salary sacrifice is how it lands with employees. Access to a well-priced, tax-efficient electric car is a perk people genuinely value. For some, it’s the thing that nudges them to stay a little longer or feel a bit better about where they work.

“Five years later, we've got 70 people on the scheme,” says James McMaster, CEO of Huel. “It’s one of the most successful things we've done from an employee benefits point of view.”

There’s plenty of research out there linking strong benefits with better retention. Our own study showed that more than half of employees (59%) are more likely to join or stay with an organisation if they have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.

Let’s be realistic: an EV scheme alone won’t fix retention problems or replace good management. What it can do is add a meaningful, modern benefit to your package that shows you care about your people.

One of the best things about EV salary sacrifice is how flexible it can be. When employees leave, go on parental leave, or need time off for sickness, our scheme is designed to handle things without turning into a nightmare for your business.

Leaves the company

Return after 3+ months, no fees

Parental leave

Keep EV up to 12 months

Long-term sickness

Keep EV up to 3 months

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Here’s how it works in practice when an employee:

• Leaves the company: Once a car’s been on lease for more than three months, it can be returned without any early termination fees if the employee resigns, is made redundant (including voluntary redundancy), or is dismissed.
• Goes on parental leave: Employees on unpaid leave can keep their EV for up to 12 months. Any temporary payments the employer covers are credited back.
• Takes long-term sick leave: Employees off sick can usually keep their EV for up to three months with no extra cost to the business, with any temporary payments credited back.

And don’t forget: if an employee needs to move on sooner than expected, they can often transfer their car to another eligible colleague. It means the EV stays in use and helps avoid unexpected costs. 

It’s no secret that offering EVs can help your business look a bit more planet-friendly. Staff driving electric cars for work trips usually means lower emissions and lower fuel bills, and it shows customers and future hires that you’re serious about sustainability.

For Sarah Whurr, Head of Sustainability at GB Railfreight, this made the scheme a no-brainer. “One of the benefits that made us choose Octopus EV was how renewable energy would play out for our staff, including the installation of the EV charger and through tariffs such as Intelligent Octopus Go,” she explained. "We've saved on about 225 tonnes of carbon, so to me that's really successful."

Of course, the exact impact depends on how your team uses the cars and how many trips are actually for work. It’s not a magic bullet for hitting Net Zero overnight, and it’s worth being mindful of greenwashing. But it’s a tangible step in the right direction. 

Even better, it shows your employees that sustainability is important to your business.

EV salary sacrifice is low-risk, flexible, and usually boosts employee engagement while supporting your sustainability goals.

If you want to see how it could work for your business, get in touch. We’ll walk you through the options, answer any questions, and help you get set up in no time.

And if you’re not sure whether your team is ready, why not run our ready-made employee survey first? It’s quick, easy, and gives you a clear picture of interest before committing.