Salary Sacrifice Cars: Always Worth The Hassle

Some employers see salary sacrifice cars as a ‘hassle’. The schemes are often perceived as a complicated benefit to implement, and even if the scheme is in place, some businesses worry about communicating the whole idea to their employees and encouraging them to get on board. This has prompted employers to ask, “Is it worth it?” The short answer from us here at Fleet Evolution is that yes – it’s absolutely worth setting up a salary sacrifice car scheme for your workforce. Here are our top reasons why it’s always worth the ‘hassle’.

• A recent survey of 1,500 businesses found that 67% of them believed the company car was an important employee benefit – and one in five planned to upgrade their car policies in the next two years. Why? All in the name of securing, retaining and motivating the top talent.
• Having attractive benefits like a salary sacrifice scheme can encourage employees to work harder. A report in the US found that people happy with their company’s work-life benefits schemes worked an average of 21% harder, and were 33% more likely to stay at an organisation for the foreseeable future. Car schemes like this breed loyalty and productivity.
• Reduced corporation tax and NIC – probably the single biggest reason why employers go ahead with their salary sacrifice schemes. Employers must still pay NIC on the provision of the car – but this is usually much less than the employer NIC that would have been due on the salary that’s been sacrificed. Savings all round!
• Salary sacrifice car schemes can help boost your ‘green’ credentials and meet carbon reduction targets. Low emissions cars represent the biggest savings in salary sacrifice schemes, as they have the lowest rate of benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax. Wanting to reduce your company’s carbon footprint? Take a look at some of the electric or hybrid options in salary sacrifice schemes.
• An improved duty of care to employees is something that must appeal to all employers. If your team need to drive as part of their jobs, the benefit of a salary sacrifice car is that you’ll get the guarantee that your drivers are at the wheel of a brand new, well-maintained, low-emission car, which is insured up to the eyeballs should anything go awry. This offers great peace of mind for all employers – and their employees, too.