The easy (and free) way to give your employees a bonus in 2026

It’s that time of year again, when your team is hoping for a pay rise. They’ve worked hard, and you’re proud of what they’ve achieved. But your finance team is quietly reminding you that the budget is… less enthusiastic. 

That’s why EV salary sacrifice has become one of the smartest benefits around. It feels like a pay rise, even though you haven’t increased salaries by a penny.

For organisations that want to boost morale without breaking the payroll, it’s the benefit that does some serious heavy lifting.

For something so impactful, it’s so simple. An employee gives up part of their gross salary and, in return, gets an electric car. And when you factor in that insurance, maintenance, and breakdown cover are all included in the lease cost, it becomes a work perk your team will genuinely value.

The real magic comes when they look at their payslip. Paying for a new car from your gross salary doesn’t hit net pay as you might expect. Take a look at our two examples below that we've created using our nifty savings calculator.

The first payslip is Ben’s. He earns £40k a year and leases a Volkswagen ID.3 for £363 a month. Thanks to income tax and National Insurance savings, the actual impact on his take-home pay is only £277.36. Plus, by choosing an EV through work instead of a petrol car, he saves an additional £144 a month in BiK.

Now let’s check out Nina’s payslip where the savings are even bigger. She earns £60k a year and leases a Mercedes EQB for £507 a month. Thanks to tax and National Insurance breaks, it only actually costs her £351.09 out of her take-home pay. And on top of that, she saves another £237.15 a month on BiK.

Employees love seeing the savings land straight on their payslip. “It’s a really good deal,” says Amy Ambrose, HR Business Partner at GB Railfreight. “You can see how much you’re saving on your payslip, and it’s a lot of money.”

And employers enjoy how little effort it takes to keep things moving. “The setup and maintenance of the scheme was really simple,” says Sarah Whurr, Head of Sustainability at GB Railfreight. “We were given a dedicated customer account manager who has been with us ever since. He talked us through every element – from set up and billing to invoicing – and even brought our payroll team on board.”

Sound good? We thought so too. Check out our EV salary sacrifice scheme below.