HUNDREDS of staff at technology company Oracle can now benefit from a new car ownership package launched by their employer and fleet leasing company Alphabet.

Employees eligible for the scheme are able to convert their flexible benefits credits into a new car.

The scheme is open to all employees, subject to a minimum qualifying length of service.

It covers cars used for both business and private motoring and no restriction is placed on the choice of cars available.Richard Schooling, Alphabet’s commercial director, said: ‘This innovative scheme provides clear advantages for both the company and its staff.

‘With this plan, Oracle UK can offer a car benefit that is cost-effective and, where employees use their cars on business, the structured nature of this scheme helps to safeguard the company’s obligations under new official guidelines on at-work road safety.

‘The staff who use the scheme benefit from new car packages that are streets ahead of traditional routes such as hire purchase or personal loans.’

The package includes all maintenance and running costs, apart from fuel, and the fleet funding company guarantees the cars’ resale value at the end of the contracts, subject to pre-agreed mileage and condition terms.

Oracle bosses launched the scheme as part of what it described as its ‘comprehensive flexible benefits approach which gives employees the opportunity to use their salary and their flexible benefits credits to personally tailor their benefits to suit their needs and change them as their needs change’.

An Alphabet spokesman added: ‘The cost of each car is fixed for the duration of each contract, which lasts from two to four years, allowing drivers to change cars at regular intervals with freedom from worries about unexpected repair costs or falling second-hand values.’

As this new plan is an ownership scheme rather than a company car scheme, Oracle’s employees are not liable for company car tax.