The cost of setting up a salary sacrifice scheme will vary but the good news is that it’s free for a business to sign up for our Salary Sacrifice scheme. You can also save on salary and business costs when employees join the scheme.

For employees, Salary Sacrifice is the most cost effective way to run a brand new electric car for their personal use. It allows them to benefit from the same tax incentives on zero emission vehicles that apply to company cars.

For employers it’s a great staff benefit that can be set up at no extra cost and with minimal administration. It’s also another way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint.

There are just a few simple steps to set up this great staff benefit at Xcite Salary Sacrifice. Once you have accepted the scheme, we market the scheme to your eligible employees, who can then choose a car from the online platform. You approve their selection (or not), and we have the ability to carry out affordability checks if required. We order the car, ensure it is delivered to the employee, and provide you with all the necessary payroll information.

Employees who join the scheme will receive all the following for their sacrificed salary:

• A fully electric vehicle leased on a term between two and four years
• Fully comprehensive insurance including business use
• Full maintenance package including all servicing, tyres, MOTs
• Breakdown cover
• Accident management
• Early Termination Protection
• A dedicated account contact

You can set your company’s criteria for joining and decide which employees you would like to offer the scheme to. Our requirements are as follows:

• Full time or part time employee over 18 years of age.
• Salary is above the National Minimum Wage (NMW) threshold after the sacrificed salary has been deducted. We recommend that a minimum salary of around £30,000 pa be eligible.
• They are eligible for the scheme’s car insurance, shown in detail below.
• Their contract of employment is for longer than the salary sacrifice lease and they can commit to the full term of the lease contract. Employees on fixed term contracts can still be eligible for the scheme provided the contract is longer than the proposed salary sacrifice agreement.

You can get any car through a salary sacrifice scheme, however because we want to save you and your employees as much as we can we'll only offer you cars that make financial sense to have on our salary sacrifice scheme. This is why we only offer fully electric and some plug-in hybrid models. 

To incentivise the take up of electric cars the BIK tax charge on company cars decreases in line with carbon emissions. The lowest BIK rate applies to vehicles with zero C02 emissions, or emissions of less than 50g per km and an electric range of more than 130 miles. The rate is set at 2% until April 2025, after which it will increase by1% each year until 2028.

As you may know, company car BIK tax is calculated on the P11D value (based on the list price including VAT and delivery charges). If the PD11 value of a zero emission vehicle is £30,000, the BIK rate would be 2% of this or £600 for the year. For the employee, their tax band is applied so a 40% taxpayer would pay £240 for the year or £20 per month.

Yes. We will amend their Terms and Conditions of Employment in accordance with Section 4 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 when they sign the salary sacrifice agreement.

• Budgeting and planning are simplified because payments car payments are deducted from salary and fixed for the term of the lease. The payments cover insurance, servicing, tyres, maintenance, breakdown and accident management as well as road tax and MOTs if applicable.
• The reduction in an employee’s gross salary is likely to be reflected in lower pensions contributions and Student Loan deductions.
• An employee’s credit rating is not affected by joining the scheme as there are no credit checks, but the reduction in their salary will affect the amount they can borrow.

The lease contract and all associated services are in the name of your business, rather than the employee. However, it will be a joint responsibility between you and your employees for ensuring that their vehicle is kept in a roadworthy and legal condition, and for getting any necessary maintenance or repair work completed.

All salary sacrifice cars are brand new with a manufacturer guarantee which will last for most, or all, of the lease term.

As part of our scheme we provide all routine servicing and maintenance including breakdown and recovery, as well as tyre replacement through wear and accidental punctures, and we notify the drivers when servicing or MOTs are due. 

Early Termination Protection covers the cost of handing back the vehicle before the end of the lease. This charge is based on the lease payments and remaining term. It is covered in these circumstances:

• Resignation (6 months deferral period)
• Parental leave (9 months deferral period)
• Long term sickness absence (3 months deferral period)
• Accidental death (no deferral)
• Loss of driving licence (on medical grounds)

We contact the employee around three to six months before the end of the contract and make sure there is a smooth transition to a replacement car if needed.

Employees are responsible for any damage beyond fair wear and tear and they can choose whether to pay for repairs themselves or be charged through the scheme. We follow the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) guidelines, and we can provide information on these. There is also a charge if mileage is above the annual mileage that the contract was based on.

The insurance premium is fixed for the duration of the agreement and includes:

• Social, domestic, pleasure and commuting cover, including use on the employer’s business, are covered as standard. Other forms of business use for the policyholder and/or spouse/civil partner may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any other drivers listed on the insurance (not partner/spouse) will only be covered for social, domestic and pleasure use.
• Unlimited cover for audio and navigation equipment that is permanently fixed to the vehicle and has no independent power source.
• Personal belongings in the car up to £350.
• Replacement locks (see full policy wording for details).
• Damage following incorrect fuelling (no cover for removal of incorrect fuel and refuelling of the car).
• Emergency medical treatment.
• Medical expenses, up to £350 per person.
• Accident transport/vehicle recovery.
• Child car seat cover, up to £100 per seat.
• Courtesy car for the duration of repairs if in case of an accident the car is repaired by an NIG approved repairer.
• If the vehicle is stolen and not recovered or if it is declared a total loss, a courtesy car is provided for up to 14 days or until a settlement offer is agreed (whichever is earlier).

There are no restrictions on where the car can be driven as it is for personal use, rather than a company car.

Excess charges are as follows:

• Accidental Damage £250
• Fire, Theft and Malicious damage £250
• Replacement windscreen £50. There will be no excess charge if the windscreen is repaired.
• An additional excess of £300 applies to drivers aged 17 to 20 for each claim and £200 for drivers aged 21 to 24.

Employees must be over 18 and under 75 years of age (78 at the end of contract).

A full driving licence is required from the UK, EU, EEA or one of the following countries: Andorra, Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, USA or Zimbabwe.

They must be a permanent UK resident and have been a permanent employee for a minimum of 6 months, or a named driver for a permanent employee.

They are allowed no more than 2 category 'A' convictions disclosed and no more than ONE FAULT claim per driver disclosed in the last three years. Claims or category ‘A’ convictions over three years old from the car delivery date are acceptable, as are convictions that are shown below in red, which are over five years of age from date of delivery.

No drivers have a non-motoring conviction that is not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

No drivers can be employed by the emergency services unless explicitly agreed.

No drivers are celebrities or otherwise in the public eye including professional sportspersons, actors and musicians.

Category ‘A’ Convictions show on online licence checks beginning with the following codes: CU or LC or MW or PC or SP or TS.

Employees with any of the following convictions you will not be eligible for the scheme:

• Any conviction which has resulted in a ban in the last 5 years (including any of the minor conviction codes above).
• A conviction in the last 5 years with any of the following letters on your licence: AC – BA – CD – DD – DG – DR – IN – MS – TT - UT