Cheshire West and Chester Council reduced the risks associated with its salary sacrifice car scheme by insisting that participating employees take out early termination insurance.
Debbie Thompson, reward manager at the council, says: “It is very important to make some decisions up front. If you have decided where you are coming at it from a cost perspective and have a good idea of what your risks are likely to be in the future, that can make it a lot easier. We have early termination insurance, which we insist people take out as part of the package.”
The council launched its scheme, provided by Tusker, for 9,000 staff last summer. Drivers can choose from a range of 450 environmentally friendly cars emitting less than 120g/km of CO2. About 120 cars have been selected by staff, and a further 200 enquiries are in the pipeline.
In future, the council will put more emphasis on communicating the scheme. Thompson adds: “For us it is a win-win. It is about offering people access to a new car, which they might not have been able to afford otherwise, reducing our grey fleet usage and converting to a much greener car scheme.
“The fact that staff can get savings on their car insurance is another selling point. Some staff have put their children on the insurance because it is so much cheaper that way.”
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