Insurance company Aviva has introduced an EV salary sacrifice scheme, enabling its UK staff to drive a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) for a two- or three-year period.
Employees will be able to select all-electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf and the Mini Electric through the scheme, which is provided by leasing, fleet management and vehicle outsourcing business Zenith.
Under the scheme, Aviva employees can sacrifice part of their salary and, in return, receive certain company-provided benefits, which can give tax and employee National Insurance savings.
For example, an employee paying the basic rate of tax could sacrifice £350 of monthly pre-tax salary on a car costing £23,500, to pay a net monthly cost of £242, effectively a discount of 31%.
The scheme covers Aviva comprehensive insurance, servicing and maintenance, road fund licence, breakdown cover, replacement tyres, accident management, delivery and collection and fully managed service access 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Aviva has also increased the range of bikes on its Cycle2Work scheme. In July, the scheme limit increased from £2,000 to £4,000, making a wider range of bikes available, including electric bikes.
The scheme is part of ongoing climate-related activity to support and enable Aviva employees to take action against climate change.
In March 2021, Aviva became the first major insurer worldwide to target net zero carbon by 2040. This includes a target of net zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s own operations and supply chain by 2030.
Danny Harmer, chief people officer, Aviva, said: “Our people are hugely passionate about our net zero carbon by 2040 goal, so we are looking for practical ways to help them limit climate change.
“Aviva’s electric vehicle and Cycle2Work schemes are two ways we are supporting them to put this into practice.”
Aviva has made a commitment to deliver all new company car leases in the UK, Ireland and Canada through battery-electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel-cell EVs, by 2025, which will reportedly save up to 4,200 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
Furthermore, the company has committed to the EV100 initiative, meaning Aviva will report annually on progress to switch its motor fleet to EVs.
