A “surprising” lack of awareness of salary sacrifice car schemes amongst the Human Resources sector may be preventing employees from enjoying the benefits of electric vehicles at low prices.

Fleet Evolution founder and managing director Andrew Leech said he was “stunned” by the lack of salsac knowledge in the HR sector

So says Andrew Leech, founder and managing director of EV leasing specialist Fleet Evolution, who said he was “stunned” by the lack of knowledge amongst HR managers to the benefits, and even the existence, of such schemes.

The firm’s research a year ago among HR decision-makers revealed that only 15% were aware of salary sacrifice schemes for cars, particularly electric cars.

A year on and a similar survey produced exactly the same results – just 15% of respondents had any knowledge of salary sacrifice schemes for EVs and their benefits for employees.

“We found the results astonishing, given all the publicity surrounding salary sacrifice schemes, particularly for EVs where the low levels of Benefit-in-Kind tax make them particularly attractive,” Leech said.

He added that the Chancellor’s announcement in Thursday’s Autumn Statement that BiK rates for EVs would go up by just 1% a year for three years from 2025/26, giving a rate of 5% by 2027/28, would do little to undermine the attractiveness of such schemes.

“The Chancellor gave us clarity on the Government’s position for the next five years at least, which is that they are committed to a low tax environment for EVs. This is great news for employees and employers alike, given the multiple benefits such a scheme can deliver – especially during the current cost of living crisis which has seen inflation hit 11%,” Leech said.

Fleet Evolution has also highlighted that salary sacrifice schemes play a vital role in helping employees not only cut their costs of mobility but also to overcome wellbeing issues surrounding the cost-of-living crisis – in particular for lower-paid staff not on company car schemes.

“For businesses and staff that want to keep mobility costs under control at a time of rapidly spiralling costs, a salary sacrifice car scheme can provide even relatively low-paid staff with a highly cost- and tax-efficient electric vehicle.

“Such a scheme can also help employees tackle the anxiety and emotional stress caused by the prospect of living costs spiralling out of control and help contribute positively to their wellbeing in the current turbulent economic climate,” he pointed out.

And while there are now nearly 5,000 free-to-use charge points across the UK at locations such as supermarkets and cinemas, Fleet Evolution is also working to support charging access for those drivers without access to a drive or garage at home

“We seek to help our customers in this respect by offering a free charge point for every five vehicles they have with us, so that employees can charge their vehicles while at the office.

“A typical trip to the office, for say two days a week, can provide more than enough charge for the weekly commute and remove much of the associated range anxiety,” finished Leech.