FLEET Alliance is providing a salary sacrifice electric car scheme for the Unity Schools Partnership, a multi-academy trust with charitable status across three counties.

It’s the Glasgow fleet management and leasing broker’s first major educational deal. 

The Unity Schools Partnership comprises 35 educational establishments – these include academies and secondary, primary and special schools – spread across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, plus a smaller number in Cambridgeshire and the London Borough of Havering.

There are around 2,800 members of staff in total and almost all of them are eligible to lease an electric car through the scheme, provided they have passed their probationary period, are aged over 21 and the salary sacrifice deduction does not take their take-home pay below the minimum living wage.

SarahGarnerSarah Garner (left), Deputy CEO and Director of Finance at Unity Schools Partnership, said that the scheme is a “valuable retention and recruitment tool” and has been “very well received to date” by staff members. 

She praised the pro-active role Fleet Alliance account managers had played in initiating the scheme and ensuring its smooth operation, saying:

“They have been great in marketing the benefits of the scheme to members of staff, and attending live events so that we can openly discuss the scheme and address some of the myth-busting issues that exist around electric cars. For example, Fleet Alliance will be taking a stand at our forthcoming Unity Day for staff development as well as bringing vehicles for staff to view.”

The Unity Schools Partnership added that it was impressed by the range of electric cars available, with no restrictions and “nothing off the table”.

“No one who has taken an electric car through the scheme has regretted it and there have been some very positive comments on our internal intranet,” Sarah added.

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The MG4 and Tesla Model Y have been particularly popular so far on the salary sacrifice scheme. Other vehicles taken by Unity to date include the Mercedes EQC and Peugeot e-2008. 

Aside from appealing to staff, the scheme is helping the Unity Schools Partnership to meet its carbon reduction targets. 

“One of our legal obligations as a multi-academy trust is to report on environmental initiatives through the Streamlining Energy and Carbon Reduction (SECR) report. And offering electric cars through salary sacrifice is one of our carbon-reduction measures under its terms.”

Andy Bruce, CEO, Fleet Alliance highlights the financial benefits. 

“There are significant savings on vehicles supplied through a salary sacrifice scheme and, we believe, the 4% reduction in National Insurance rates announced by Government in two stages recently is having little or no impact on the effectiveness of these schemes. 

“In our opinion, there has never been a better time for organisations who want to provide a wider range of benefits for their members of staff to take advantage of the salary sacrifice benefits that exist on electric cars. Our forward order banks certainly prove that this is the case.”

Fleet Alliance is currently working on implementing several other schemes in the educational sector, and believes that there’s room for growth.

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