Healthy snacks manufacturer, Warp Snacks, has introduced an electric car salary sacrifice scheme for staff in conjunction with Glasgow-based fleet management and leasing company, Fleet Alliance, to provide them with a greater choice of employee benefits while helping to meet environmental goals.
Warp Snacks was formed from the union of two separate businesses, Eat Real and PROPER Snacks, in 2021 with the belief that healthier snacks should taste great.
The business now has a factory operation in Nuneaton with around 250 manufacturing staff and 80 office staff. There is also a brand hub in Central London with a further 60 employees.
The salary sacrifice scheme, which was launched in January this year as part of the company’s People and Planet goals, is currently available to around 130 eligible staff. These include employees on the People team, IT, Operations Team, Product Development, Technical and Sales and Marketing Teams.
Eleanor Sheehan from the People Team at Warp Snacks said: “We’re always looking at ways to introduce new and exciting benefits for our teams. The decision to implement a salary sacrifice car scheme was ongoing when I joined the company last August, so I picked up the project quite late in the game and have been responsible for its implementation.
“As a leading EV provider, Fleet Alliance was always high on our list. I had worked with another supplier previously at another company and did not have a great experience.
“So, I was very keen to find a better provider that could address my concerns, which were mostly around good customer service and support.
“Fleet Alliance fits the bill perfectly, and our account managers, Scott Russell and Joe Mulford, have been great in the level of support and information they provide us with,” she added.
Sheehan said there had been interest across the business after the scheme was communicated to staff through company-wide sessions in January, followed by a special EV launch meeting for interested team members.
“There has been lots of requests for access to the scheme portal from many areas. And we have installed charging units in our car park to help encourage uptake of EVs,” she said.
Employees have a wide choice of electric cars to choose from at very cost-effective rates. Ten cars have been supplied to date, all electric models from established brands such as Polestar, Volkswagen and Kia, with staff able to identify and order new EVs through a dedicated portal.
“Electric cars are very cost advantageous because of the low taxation associated with them, as well as having environmental benefits, and our employees have appreciated that,” added Eleanor Sheehan.
Fleet Alliance CEO, Andy Bruce, commented. “Warp Snacks is to be applauded for its decision to introduce electric cars through a salary sacrifice scheme as EVs combine advantageous tax breaks with a sustainable solution for businesses.
“As well as including all service, maintenance and breakdown costs, our scheme is a great way to offer a company car at no extra cost to the business; it encourages staff to make the timely transition to electric cars thereby reducing the corporate carbon footprint while helping the business meet its ESG agenda,” he said.
“We are also offering ETI (Early Termination Insurance) to provide complete peace of mind for employees that they will not be left with a large bill for unpaid rentals should they leave for any reason within the three-year rental period,” he added.
Fleet Alliance calculates that leasing an EV through one of its salary sacrifice schemes can save up to 60% of the running costs compared with personal contract hire (PCH), while at the same time not impacting on personal credit lines.
“Electric car salary sacrifice offers huge tax benefits. And, as we competitively tender each salary sacrifice lease across a panel of competitive funders, we can leverage the access to an electric car for our customers and their employees,” added Andy Bruce.
