According to new research from Fleet Evolution, UK employees rate a salary sacrifice scheme that offers access to an electric vehicle (EV) as the most valuable flexible benefit.
The fleet services provider polled 5,000 employees, with 40% of respondents saying that salary sacrifice schemes were the most important benefit, followed by pensions (37%) and flexible working (nine percent).
In addition to this, more than half (55%) of employees said they would not have pursued getting an EV had it not been for a salary sacrifice scheme.
Other factors they named in their decision to switch to an electric vehicle (EV) included the availability of workplace charging infrastructure and cost of diesel and petrol.
When asked about the single biggest factor in their decision, more than three-quarters (78%) pointed to the cost savings that could be made by making the switch.
Furthermore, 62% of those surveyed said that they would not join a company or employer that did not offer salary sacrifice vehicles as a benefit.
Andrew Leech, founder and managing director of Fleet Evolution, said: “At a time when many employees face rising costs across the board in almost all areas of life, what this major new survey underlines is the importance of having flexible benefits, such as a salary sacrifice car scheme, as cost-saving initiatives available to employees.
“The current benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax regime makes electric cars affordable for many employees who are above the minimum living wage, especially when compared to the high tax rates and high fuel costs for both petrol and diesel models currently.
“Electric cars are also an extremely valuable benefit to employees due to their convenience, ease of use, absence of upfront payments and value for money.”
Another major factor mentioned was that BIK tax rates on EVs with zero carbon emissions are just three percent from the start of this month versus tax rates in the 20-30% region for diesel and petrol cars.
