London Borough of Bexley council has opened a car salary sacrifice scheme to 3,500 eligible employees.

The Borough undertook a comprehensive review of their existing car policy and appointed Tusker in partnership with P&MM Benefits as part of the launch of a wider range of benefits under the new ‘MyChoice’ programme.

Mandy Vennard, head of HR Delivery for London Borough of Bexley, said:  “Our existing car scheme was used as a recruitment tool for senior staff and certain other key posts.  On reviewing the arrangement, we decided that we wanted to offer a car benefit to everyone and we were very impressed with Tusker’s Car Benefit Scheme.”

Tusker’s Salary Saving Car Scheme is a tax efficient salary sacrifice plan, which offers employees a brand new car for a fixed monthly amount which doesn’t require a deposit or credit check.  The scheme includes maintenance, insurance, breakdown cover, tyres and road fund licence, offering employee’s average saving of £80 every month when compared with similar retail offers. 

Within weeks of the launch, Tusker had received more than 60 orders and over 10% of the eligible employee population had logged on to the bespoke driver website.

Vennard added: “From day one Tusker have been excellent to work with. They are a very well organised and knowledgeable team, with a well-rehearsed implementation programme.  They’re also effective with their marketing and communications, which enabled us to engage with staff immediately and are always coming up with something new to add to our monthly marketing programme, such as last year’s Black Friday deal which was particularly successful.”

The communication programme includes benefits fairs, email and intranet communication plus the use of videos.  Regular roadshows are organised for employees to discuss the scheme with a Tusker expert. There’s also a live chat function on the website and a customer help-line. 

“Feedback from staff shows us that the scheme has been really well received” said Vennard, “with many employees saying they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford a new car.”

“The scheme feels like it runs itself because Tusker just does everything.  They deal directly with our staff and it requires very little input from the HR team.  Our employees love it because the website is so easy to use, they can get as many quotes as they like and everything is handled automatically by Tusker.”

The cars on the scheme are limited to 120g/km CO2, in order to help London Borough of Bexley meet its carbon reduction targets.  As with every Tusker car, the tailpipe emissions are calculated for the life of the agreement and are off-set at no extra cost to the driver against a choice of approved carbon off-setting projects around the world.