As companies start to move over to fleet cars, they also need to consider their infrastructure for charging at their workplaces. But charging your vehicle at the workplace is not like charging at home.
There are several things that you need to consider and one of these is the installation cost. The initial cost of installing a chargepoint in your workplace could be expensive.
This is one of the reasons why the government, through the Office of Zero-Emissions Vehicles, is granting financial support to qualified owners through the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS).
Read through this Workplace EV Charger Grant guide, so you would know what to do in case you want to apply for the scheme.
The Workplace Charging Scheme
The WCS or Workplace Charging Scheme is a government grant that has provided support to businesses for the installation of electric vehicle charging points for their customers and employees.
The WCS is accessible to any business, public authority or charity, with conditions that enable them to reduce workplace EV charging station installation costs by £14,000 (£350/socket, for 40 sockets).
The WCS gives a discount of £350 on the purchase and installation costs of EV chargepoints, and one applicant can opt for 40 chagepoints, whether it’s 40 EV chargers or 20 double socket chargers.
This part of the OLEV or Office for Low Emission Vehicles project is to convince drivers to use electric vehicles and help more people switch to electric from diesel or petrol. Take the time to know more about government OLEV grants, along with other government grants for electric car charging points UK.
It is crucial to remember that current workplace EV charging stations can’t be claimed immediately.
Eligibility criteria:
- The charge points must be used for business, organisation or charity – not residential
- You should have enough off-street parking
- Installations should be done by an OLEV-approved installer
Evidence Needed For Application
If your business, charity or public sector organisation is registered, you should provide evidence at the Companies House reference number. Without a reference number, it would be very difficult for you to make a workplace charging scheme application.
If you don’t have this reference number, a VAT registration number would suffice. If you don’t have both, you can submit an HMRC registration letter to the DVLA.
Charities that don’t have this documentation may submit a copy of their registration to the Charity Commission. Without these documents, the DVLA won’t issue a voucher.
Charger Installation Site Eligibility
WCS applicants are expected to have off-street parking areas dedicated to staff or fleet use and feasible for free electric vehicle charging point installation. All parking sites must be directly associated with the applicant.
Each parking site must have:
- a consistent power supply that contains at least 3kW for every socket
- multiple sockets are installed for every available parking area for staff or fleet use
When does the scheme end?
You can take your time applying for this grant since the government hasn’t set an end date yet.
The government is doing the exact opposite by ramping up the scheme to encourage more people to use EVs.
Initially launched back in 2016, the workplace electric vehicle charging policy UK has since been renewed in December 2020 and is set to be further extended in 2022.
Learn more about this topic here: Workplace EV Charging Scheme
Has the scheme been popular?
The WCS has certainly gained traction over the years.
As of 1 July 2021, the scheme has funded the installation of 16,975 sockets in workplace car parks since it began in 2016. Although this sounds like a lot, it could mean anywhere between 424 and 16,975 businesses.
However, there has been a spike in interest in the past year. In fact, out of the total 16,976 installations, 7,118 sockets were installed in the last 12 months – up 72% from July 2020.
This increase in installations also aligns with the spike of EVs being bought in the UK. As you can see in the chart below, the number of registered electric cars in the UK grew massively throughout 2020.
Benefits of Workplace Charging
There are several benefits to workplace charging and they include:
- The potential the charge members of the public to use your charges, ensuring a quick return on investment for your initial installation cost
- Offer to charge for both fleet and staff for private vehicles
- Increase the value of your assets by enhancing and modernizing your workplace with chargers
- Boost the benefits and perks to your staff with added convenience where they can just plug in and get on with their work
Employee Incentive
Workplace charging will be a game-changer for employees. While residential OLEV grants and available, the regulations require homeowners to have off-street parking. Off-street parking is not common in many areas which makes the grant unavailable for many residential properties.
The ability to do workplace charging can encourage employees to use their electric cars more. Workplace charging is an effective model since employees’ cars are allowed to charge for long hours during worktime or overnight for fleet vehicles.
It provides a great opportunity for employees to charge their EVs and enjoy the benefits of owning an electric vehicle. Workplace charging can be a great company incentive that will encourage employees to work harder and be loyal to the company, minimizing staff turnover and increasing productivity.
Read more about this topic here: Free EV Charging
Financial Savings
There is great potential for savings. Using Workplace Charging Grant to install a charging station will enable you to shift to electric from petrol cars. One of the major benefits of this is substantial financial savings.
Electric vehicles are more cost-effective to use than diesel or petrol vehicles. You may spend 20p per mile with a diesel or petrol vehicle but that would cost as little as 1p per mile on an electric vehicle, depending on your energy tariff and car type.
You can save £1,000 each time you drive 10,000 miles with a fleet and that doesn’t include savings on employee fuel costs. Your company vehicle will also be exempted from employee benefit-in-kind tax.
You can learn more about EV charging for fleets in the article:
Increase Profits
There’s currently a rich demographic for EV drivers. Winning this customer base into your business will have a significant impact on your business and its services – restaurants, spars, cafes, bars, activities, and more.
You can search for public chargers on sites like Zap-Map.com, where EV drivers can determine the location of charging stations and their service charges. Zap-Map is attracting nearly a hundred thousand visitors each month and this will increase as more drivers use electric vehicles.
Installing electric vehicle charging stations with workplace charging schemes not only saves you money but also increases profits and customers.
Promoting Sustainability
Green fleets will significantly reduce CO2 emissions and are a great way to implement corporate responsibility in terms of sustainability. EV chargers are among the most efficient and cost-effective means to reduce your carbon footprint.
You will be able to measure these CO2 reductions as EV chargers are now required to be smart-metered. Smart charging provides a tangible, measurable way to reach your CSR goals so your EVs can help the environment.
EV chargers are among the most cost-effective methods to reach your CSR goals.
Learn more about how to make a profit from EV charging here: Commercial EV Chargers
0% Benefit-in-Kind Tax
OLEV or The Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles has provided the 0% Benefit in Kind Tax as an incentive for company cars. This will create great demand for EV charging in the workplace and reduce taxes for the entire fleet.
Electric Vehicle Fleets
Electric vehicles are set to hit our roads soon. It is predicted that 36 million electric vehicles within the United Kingdom will be registered by 2035. Transitioning into electric vehicle fleets will yield a lot of benefits for your business.
For one, you will be able to stay on top of the trend and prepare your business for these changes in the future. The sooner you shift, the sooner your business will be able to adapt and take it to the next level.
Additional Tips
Since the government continues to encourage the use of electric vehicles, it is inevitable for workplace installations to follow the trend.
A survey from The Eco Experts’ National Home Energy Survey shows that 69% of UK residents would purchase an electric vehicle if money isn’t a factor. 17% mentioned they are looking to buy an electric car within a year – a good sign that the dominance of diesel and petrol cars is ending.
What To Do Next
Thanks to the Workplace Charging Scheme and other government initiatives, the demand for electric vehicles continues to increase. It’s just a matter of time before EVs dominate the road over diesel and petrol cars.
If you’re looking to get an electric chargepoint for your business, Pumpt can help you. All you need to do is contact our administrators, fill in some forms and quotes and our installers will handle the rest.
Pumpt is the perfect place to shop for quality and affordable electric chargers so you can cut costs on your charging installation project. We also provide installation services for your units so you don’t have to look elsewhere.
Take a deep dive into the subject matter. Learn more by clicking here: Workplace Charging Scheme
