How should you charge staff for workplace EV charging?

You can design workplace charging around a staff benefit, cost recovery or a wider operating budget. Metered payment helps explain what staff buy. Eligible installations can receive up to £500 per socket through the Workplace Charging Scheme [S1], but that does not set the staff tariff. Agree access, billing and tax treatment before launch. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

Should employees pay for workplace EV charging?

Choose the purpose before choosing the price. You might subsidise charging as a staff benefit, recover the electricity cost, or recover energy and running costs together. The Welsh Government Energy Service describes pay-as-you-go, subscription and employer-funded options. Those options are useful ways to structure a discussion, rather than a prescribed UK tariff. [S3]

Ask staff how often they attend, whether they can charge at home and how much energy they need for the commute. Use the staff demand survey guide to distinguish regular need from occasional interest. A willingness to use a charger without payment is not evidence of demand at your proposed price. Include shift workers and staff based away from the main office.

State the proposed subsidy in your budget. If your aim is cost recovery, list what the price covers. If your aim is a benefit, agree who approves the ongoing spend. Avoid calling a tariff cost price when it silently includes capital recovery or a margin.

How much should you charge per kilowatt-hour?

A kilowatt-hour, or kWh, measures energy delivered. A kilowatt, or kW, measures power. Use metered energy and your own supply costs to build an initial tariff. The following is an illustration, not a quote. Every input is assumed and shown excluding VAT for comparison; an accountant must establish the staff-facing tax treatment.

Energy cost per delivered unit = 25p × 1.05 = 26.25p. Running-cost allocation = £600 ÷ 10,000 = 6p/kWh. The illustrative recovery tariff is therefore 32.25p/kWh before any applicable VAT. An assumed 20 kWh session would cost £6.45 on that basis. This is arithmetic for a budget, not a recommended staff price.

Check the sensitivity to usage: at an assumed 5,000 kWh/year, the same £600 overhead contributes 12p/kWh, making the illustrative recovery rate 38.25p. If your business absorbs the overhead, explain that subsidy. Include incremental capacity charges or service fees when your actual contract requires them. Use sub-metering charging energy to prepare a measurement brief.

How can staff pay without creating a payroll problem?

Compare a metered charging account with an agreed payroll deduction or subscription. Request a demonstration showing registration, session identification, the price before charging, a failed payment and a disputed bill. The Welsh technical note recommends clear repayment arrangements and explains both usage-based and monthly payment approaches. [S3]

GOV.UK explains when wage deductions are permitted, including written agreement or a contractual basis. Do not start collecting charging costs from wages simply because the software can export a payroll file. Have your payroll team and solicitor check consent, minimum-wage treatment and the deduction wording. [S4]

A deduction from net pay and a salary-sacrifice arrangement need different review. HMRC’s workplace charging guidance says the benefit remains taxable when offered through an optional remuneration arrangement. Do not describe salary sacrifice as automatically preserving the workplace exemption. Check with your accountant. [S2]

Is charging an employee’s own car a taxable benefit?

HMRC provides an exemption for qualifying charging at or near the workplace. Conditions include availability to employees generally and charging a vehicle in which the employee is a driver or passenger. Its guidance covers electricity, charging facilities and connected services. Confirm all the conditions rather than relying only on the car park being at work. [S2]

Keep a written policy and have your accountant distinguish employee-owned cars, company cars, business journeys and charging away from the premises. The staff charging tax guide explores those questions. VAT on a sale to staff is another issue; use VAT on charging sales for the records to assemble.

How should you share bays and handle charging outside work hours?

Agree access before opening the service. Record eligible users, booking rules, how long a vehicle may remain, what happens when a session finishes during a shift, and how someone without a smartphone gets help. Make a named site manager responsible for exceptions. Review actual queues before adding fees or more reserved bays.

If bays are intended exclusively for staff or fleet use and are never accessible to the general public, the public chargepoint guidance places them outside its scope. Opening them to the public changes that assessment. Do not assume private land, an access app or restricted hours settles the question. [S5]

Ask an installer to confirm your electrical capacity and safe layout. Keep accessible routes and existing parking needs in the design brief. For a funded installation, confirm that your proposed access and payment policy fits the grant conditions before commissioning it. The current ordinary Workplace Charging Scheme offers eligible support up to £500 per socket through 31 March 2027. [S1]

HMRC also publishes a separate extension for chargepoint first-year allowances. That concerns qualifying capital expenditure rather than staff bills or running costs. Give your accountant the grant and equipment invoices so the funding and tax positions can be considered together. [S6]

What should you do next?

Write a draft tariff, access policy and annual budget, then get matched with an installer that covers your area. Request a billing demonstration using your policy, including shift changes and refunds.

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