The Electric Car Scheme has augmented its EV salary sacrifice solution with a new package to ensure employers are protected from hidden costs.

The Electric Car Scheme CEO and co-founder Thom Groot

While latest fleet industry figures show soaring demand for salary sacrifice as the most affordable way to get into an electric car, concerns still exist within businesses as to the costs and practicalities of implementing one.

Recent research conducted by The Electric Car Scheme found that 90% of businesses believe that there is a significant risk in having an electric car scheme as an employee benefit

Key concerns include the risk of early termination fees. For example, in the event that an employer needs to make an employee redundant, the company could incur a fee equal to 50% of the remaining car lease costs. This could amount to tens of thousands of pounds.

But a new package from The Electric Car Scheme means businesses will not have to pay any extra fees should an employee leave unexpectedly.

It’s said to differ from other market offerings, which often feature complex terms and conditions, exclusion periods and return limits, potentially leaving employers with significant bills or headaches. The Electric Car Scheme’s Complete Risk Protection Service protects the employer from any shortfall due to employee resignation, redundancies, dismissals, long term sickness and family friendly leave. It also provides a new feature to protect employers if the employee doesn’t repay the company for damage to their car.

In addition, there is no cost to offer the scheme and The Electric Car Scheme removes all the hassle by running the scheme end-to-end for employers.

Thom Groot, CEO and co-founder of the business, commented: “We want to make it easy for companies to say ‘Yes’ to offering electric car salary sacrifice as a benefit to their employees. Financial risk is understandably a big deal for companies. By offering The Electric Car Scheme with Complete Risk Protection, we can create a ‘no brainer’ decision for companies and their employees to transition to net zero. This is a huge step for the scheme, one that will make it even more attractive to employers and employees alike.”

Rebate website TopCashback said the new solution had allayed its concerns over implementing salary sacrifice.

Chris Heather, shared services director, commented: “We had decided not to progress with an electric car salary sacrifice scheme, until The Electric Car Scheme told us about their risk protection offered, which was not something we had come across before. This made us feel much more comfortable that these risks were mitigated, so we were delighted to offer our staff the significant savings to help access electric cars in a more affordable way, knowing that we didn’t need to worry.”