How to choose the right EV salary sacrifice provider for your business

Bringing in a new provider at work can be a minefield. No one wants to be left guessing whether they asked the right questions before making a recommendation on who to partner with. 

As well as making sure your company is getting value for money, and your team will be well looked after, it can feel like your own reputation is at stake when you’re responsible for making the call on who should provide electric cars for your team. 

But finding the right EV salary sacrifice provider doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are six key areas you should cover to find the right partner for your team’s needs. 

The success of your EV salary sacrifice scheme will depend on how your team engages with it. They need confidence in your chosen provider, being sure they’ll get a simple user journey and support at every step.

Don’t fall into the trap of only looking at the lowest monthly costs. As with most things in life, those who offer rock-bottom prices usually offer a subpar experience. 

Look for providers with simple onboarding processes, who communicate clearly and who have high customer satisfaction. Since many of your team will be switching to an EV for the first time, it helps to have a provider who will help your team understand what switching to an EV means for them and how they can choose the right car for their lifestyle. 

A great EV scheme goes beyond just offering the car itself. The best providers offer: 

• Home charging support
• Public charging access and discounts 
• Guidance that helps manage any potential range anxiety 

In fact, it can save your business a significant amount of money if you get it set up right from the start. Here’s how, in simple terms. 

As an employer, you pay Class 1 National Insurance on your employees' cash earnings, aka their salary. When salary sacrifice reduces your employees’ gross pay, the amount you pay as the employer goes down. 

You pay Class 1A National Insurance on ‘benefits in kind’, including the company car itself. When you provide an electric car as a benefit, HMRC treats it as a taxable benefit, and you pay Class 1A on it. The Class 1 savings you make are often large enough to cover your Class 1A bill entirely. And then some. Leaving your business with surplus cash. 

But here’s the catch. Some providers don’t let you keep all of those tax savings. Some will keep them as an admin fee for running the scheme. It’s crucial that you find out what each provider’s approach is before you go ahead. 

We all know life doesn’t always go to plan. Circumstances change; unfortunately, businesses have to make tough decisions, and that can mean needing to end some contracts earlier than planned. Great providers will give you and your employees a safety net in the form of early termination protection. Not all providers offer robust cover, so make sure you understand what’s covered and what’s not, so you know where the risks lie for your organisation.

Ask providers what support they give for payroll and launch management, and what their reporting capabilities are. 

You’re looking for a scheme that operates smoothly with minimal admin for your HR and finance teams. 

An effective EV scheme should benefit your business too. Look for providers who can support your wider ESG and decarbonisation goals, offering measurable emissions reporting. Some will go above and beyond this, so ask what other ways they can support your employees to transition to a more sustainable future.

Now you have a clearer idea of the key things to look out for. But how much importance should you place on each area? Here’s our steer. 

• Service quality, tech and innovation: 60%
• Commercials: 30%
• Sustainability: 10%

Want to see the full list of questions you should ask EV salary sacrifice providers before deciding who to partner with? Check out our full procurement checklist. 

Here are some of the questions you need to ask potential EV salary sacrifice suppliers.

• What employee launch and onboarding support do you provide? And is there a cost for this?
• What educational resources do you provide for employees and drivers?
• What is the ordering and delivery journey like for employees?
  • What extra support do you provide? 
• How do you help to drive employee uptake through the life of the scheme?
• What customer support channels do you offer? 
  • Are support teams UK-based?
• How do you measure employee engagement and satisfaction?
  • Can you provide evidence of your recent ratings?
• What is the typical employee uptake for a business like ours?
• What happens at the end of a lease, and how do you support the employees at this point?

• What home charger options and installation services do you offer?
  • Are these offered in-house or outsourced? 
  • If outsourced, how do you manage service quality and employee experience?
• Is public charging access integrated into the scheme? 
  • How does this operate across the UK and Europe?
• Can employees access smart charging, off-peak charging tariffs or discounts? 
  • If so, how does this work?
• Is reimbursement support for home and public charging available?
• Do you offer any other green tech products for employees, including discounts?

• What is your fee structure? Do you charge a fee for your services or is this built into the cost of the vehicles?
• What’s included in the monthly cost of each car (e.g. maintenance, repairs, insurance, road tax, breakdown cover)?
• What early termination protection do you offer?
  • How does your early termination work in practice?
  • What’s not covered in your early termination protection? 
• When and how are early termination fees paid? 
• In what circumstances might drivers be liable for charges, including for early termination, any damage costs, fines, etc.?
• How do you manage and communicate the impacts of changes in tax and legislation?
• How do you make it clear to customers how the tax savings work and what’s included in their package?

• Are there minimum order numbers the company will need to hit? What are the penalties if we don’t reach them?
• What’s the typical implementation timeline and process for a business like mine?
• What resources are required from us during implementation and in-life?
  • Can you provide estimates of the time required for tasks during implementation and ongoing scheme management?
• What communication support do you provide during rollout?
• What reporting do you provide?
  • On what frequency and in what format? 
• What sustainability reporting do you provide? 
  • What metrics does this include, and how is this calculated?
• What is your account management structure and approach?
• How do you manage and escalate any issues (like delays or complaints)?

• What makes and models of cars do you provide?
  • Are there any cars you don’t offer?
• How do you manage vehicle shortages and lead time volatility?
  • What proportion of cars do you deliver within expected timelines?
• What’s your average lead time from ordering the car to delivery?
• Can employees compare vehicles online?
• How often do you update the pricing and availability of cars?

• What parts of the scheme are self-service (digital) for drivers and our internal team who will manage the scheme? 
  • Do you offer mobile access to these services?
• What SSO / integration options do you offer?
• Do you monitor employee usage and engagement data?
  • If so, is that something we are able to see?
• How does the vehicle approval process work?
  • Is this manual or digital?

• Are you authorised and regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)? 
• Are you a member of the BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association)?
• Please share 2-3 anonymised case studies of companies that are aligned with our size and/or industry
• How many vehicles and customers do you currently manage?
  • How do you ensure consistent, high-quality support across your entire customer base as you grow?
• What does your innovation roadmap look like for the next 12 -24 months?
• What can your business do to support us in our wider transition to sustainability and renewable energy?

Want to see how we stack up vs other providers? Book a call with our EV salary sacrifice experts.