More than 600 salary sacrifice cars have now been delivered to Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Newcastle Hospitals), by CPC Drive and Tusker.

Newcastle Hospitals appointed CPC Drive, in partnership with Tusker, to provide a salary sacrifice car scheme for more than 14,000 eligible full-time staff in June 2012 after going out to tender to find a new supplier.  

Eligible staff can sacrifice a portion of their salary in exchange for a fully maintained and insured brand new car and, since its introduction, the scheme has been a notable success. 

Staff nurse Rachel Balls is now one of several hundred satisfied employees who have taken advantage of the hugely cost-effective offering.

 “My previous car was a 10-year-old BMW 3 Series and it was starting to become very expensive to run. I’d heard from some of my colleagues, who had ordered new cars through the scheme, how good it was and how happy they were with the new arrangement.” 

“I also received some details about the scheme with my payslip and thought that it sounded like a great deal,” said Rachel.

All Newcastle Hospitals staff who select a new car through the scheme enjoy worry free, fixed cost motoring.  And, because their salary sacrificed is out of gross rather than net pay, they enjoy savings in income tax and National Insurance. 

The all-inclusive package includes all servicing and maintenance, fully comprehensive motor insurance, tyres, annual Road Fund Licence and breakdown cover.

“I particularly liked the fact that everything was included,” said Rachel, “as my insurance and breakdown cover on my BMW was starting to become very expensive.”

She placed an online order for a new Nissan Juke Visia 1.5dCi SUV 110PS. All cars are built to order based on each employees preferred specifications such as colour, trim and any additional options. CPC Drive stayed in touch with her throughout the process and her brand new car was delivered to her home without a hitch three months later. 

There’s no carbon ceiling on vehicles that staff can choose under the scheme, but there is a financial disincentive to select those emitting more than 120g/km CO2, in support of the Trust’s Carbon Management Strategy.

The Juke has carbon emissions of just 109g/km so it comfortably falls within the scheme’s upper limit.

“It has proved ideal for the daily commute to work and the school run, and I’m expecting to do around 10,000 problem-free miles a year in it,” said Rachel.

The salary sacrifice car scheme is available to all Newcastle Hospitals staff through a user friendly online site which enables employees to view and quote on all the cars available under the scheme. Placing an order couldn't be easier and is also done online in a few simple steps. 

Staff are kept in touch with the latest developments about the scheme through a series of web bulletins, emails and payslip attachments, while several large staff benefits events have also been held with around 1000-1200 attending each event.

The salary sacrifice car arrangements are provided in conjunction with NHS CPC Drive, the health service fleet management offering which provides NHS Trusts with a range of fleet management services, including car leasing, salary sacrifice cars, the management of grey fleet vehicles and expenses management, and for which Tusker is the preferred supplier.