The Watches of Switzerland Group, a leading luxury watch and jewellery retailer with 162 UK locations and over 2000 employees, offers a comprehensive employee benefits package, including initiatives such as a Cycle to Work Scheme, holiday purchase scheme, wellbeing benefits and share schemes. However, the company was keen to strengthen its ESG credentials, while further improving its offer for employees. Around three years ago, Lorraine Derivan joined as Head of Reward & Employee Incentives at the Watches of Switzerland Group and set about addressing this challenge.

In partnership with Tusker, Lorraine and her team launched a market-leading Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme (EVSSS) in March 2025. This sustainable, cost-effective solution is designed to support the company’s environmental goals while delivering meaningful monthly savings for employees.

Tusker was the obvious choice

Lorraine selected Tusker after collecting testimonies from her reward network, all of whom provided positive feedback. As she explains, “It’s a salary sacrifice scheme that is just a bit of a no-brainer. Everybody else seems to be doing it, why haven’t we explored this before?”

Ahead of the full launch, Tusker and the Watches of Switzerland Group set up portals for employees to test, with immediate interest. “Even though we hadn’t planned to officially launch until March, we had two or three orders straightaway,” says Lorraine.

Three initial orders were processed to get an impression of what the colleague experience looked like from end to end, and the results were seamless. Vehicles were delivered quickly and efficiently, giving the team confidence ahead of the wider rollout.

 Hitting key company goals

A key priority for the Watches of Switzerland Group was ensuring the scheme was as inclusive as possible for its eligible colleagues across the UK and Northern Ireland.

Combined with the Government’s new £650 million grant to accelerate EV adoption, the EVSSS - which offers income tax and NI savings alongside the current 3% Benefit-in-Kind rate - makes electric cars an even more affordable option.

Lorraine was pleasantly surprised by the range of vehicles available, from entry-level models all the way to high spec options. “It feels like there’s something for everybody,” she says.

The scheme is available to everyone earning over the minimum wage after the amount for the car is deducted, making it an inclusive benefit for most staff.

Supporting the company’s ESG agenda was another key reason for offering EVSSS. The Watches of Switzerland Group has been a carbon conscious company since 2010, with a focus on reducing operational emissions. This has included offsetting driver tailpipe and EV charge emissions since 2013.

Of the top 10 models chosen on the fleet, the top three are electric models. Lorraine says: “The transition to EV cars is all for the greater good - and it’s all moving in that positive direction.”

Communication was critical

The implementation process began in September 2024, with a soft launch in January 2025 and - following positive feedback from colleagues on the test portal - the scheme was officially launched in March.

Ahead of the official launch, Lorraine had concerns that introducing the new scheme might be complex, requiring strong buy-in from both internal stakeholders and external partners to ensure its success.

With payroll, accounting, and communications aligned and weekly check-ins scheduled with Tusker’s implementation project manager, the rollout ran smoothly from start to finish. Says Lorraine, “Although I was initially tentative, the scheme was implemented within around three months, with detailed weekly planning and strong involvement from the communications team.”

Clear colleague communications were essential, particularly as most of the workforce is retail-based and rarely in front of a screen. The Watches of Switzerland Group intranet was used for the launch, ensuring broad access across the business. The team also had support from Tusker to answer questions and provide more information during an online webinar, which helped employees understand more about the scheme.

Tusker was also invited on site for a first of its kind event, to showcase cars and answer questions. “This helped create early excitement and supported engagement with the scheme,” says Lorraine.

Results

Since launch, 19% of employees have signed up to take a look at the benefit, with 30 cars now being driven by colleagues. Feedback has been consistently positive, and employees are receiving their chosen vehicles within an average lead time of just two months.

The message clearly reached across the whole organisation, and uptake of the offer has been wide-ranging, from distribution centre colleagues to showroom managers and even watchmakers in the service centres.

Employees are saving around £230 monthly, on average, in tax and National Insurance, which is a welcome saving.

Every colleague who has ordered a car has become a strong ambassador for the scheme, actively sharing their experiences with others. “This has helped create a genuinely positive buzz around the program,” concludes Lorraine.

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