Electric cars have become an indispensable part of your company’s car policy. Often it is the only choice for your employees. So if you require your employees to drive electric, should you also provide a charging station at home? And who is going to bear the costs?
Current approach: employer provides charging station and reimbursement
We see that most employers do indeed offer a home charging solution. This means that they take care of the charging station itself, including installation, cabling and a refund mechanism to cover charging costs at home. But there is a shift happening.
The changing market: more and more employees already have a charging station
More and more employees already have their own charging point, whether it is from the previous employer or the employer of their partner, their own installation or even a requirement by the government for new-build homes.
This raises new questions:
- Can we take over an existing charging station to guarantee a reimbursement?
- Can the partner’s charging station be used? But at what rate?
- Should a second charging point be installed?
The new trend: focus on reimbursement rather than installation
The evolution in the market is leading to a new approach. Employers are shifting their focus from installing charging stations to correctly and legally reimbursing charging costs. Employees themselves choose and install a charging station that suits their preferences, such as type, colour, fixed cable or placement. The employer only takes care of reimbursing the energy costs, in a way that is fiscally and administratively correct. This can be done, for example, through a smart charging station with registration or an app that communicates directly with the car.
A good comparison is the phone subscription: the employee chooses his own device, but the employer pays only the call and data costs. The same can be done with a charging station: the hardware is for the employee, the energy costs for the employer.
Different options: from full support to Charging-as-a-Service
Depending on the stage your company is in, you can choose different options:
- Full support – Charging station, installation and reimbursement are provided by the employer.
- Reimbursement only – The employee installs a charging station, the employer reimburses the charging costs.
- Charging-as-a-Service – A rental model where the charging station remains the property of the employer and is moved to a new employee upon leaving employment.
Adapt your car policy
As companies have started installing charging solutions massively, we are now facing the next phase: reimbursement of charging costs is becoming more important than the charging station itself. We are gradually returning to the logic of the classic combustion engine. Only the fuel costs will be reimbursed.
So make sure your car policy is adapted to this new reality, with clear ground rules around reimbursement and charging options.
Do you wonder which charging solution best suits your organisation? Get in touch and we will be happy to help you!