Electric Vehicle Grants: The Workplace Charging Scheme Explained

As August begins, signs of climate change in the UK are front and centre. The necessity of taking action to push towards 2050 emission targets  is increasingly apparent, and businesses are feeling the pressure to set their own green targets. With electric vehicles seemingly an obvious step in the right direction, what is on offer to help mitigate financial and operational risks associated with a switch to electric?

 

Recent figures published by ZapMap tell us that the proportion of all new cars registered in June 2024, 19% were electric. In total, there are now 1,145,000 fully electric cars on UK roads.

 

Perhaps more relevant to business use, the same report indicates growth of 21% year on year in the number of electric vans registered last year. Of course, these vehicles must be funded, though.

 

In a bid to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, the UK government offers grants to help companies who want to switch, but how can they guarantee that those vehicles have access to sufficient charging points?

 

Available until 31st March 2025, the Workplace Charging Schemeis a grant that enables companies to install on-site charging points. Other long-term strategies exist to increase roadside charging across the UK, but these are fraught with uncertainties. As things stand, the best chance of reliable charging remains to have your own.

 

Eligibility for the Workplace Charging Scheme

The WCS  is available in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Island, but not in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. The grant is open to businesses, charities and public sector organisations that meet the following applicant and site eligibility criteria.

• The organisation must fulfil one of the following three criteria:
• Be a public authority as referenced in Local Government Act 2003, Section 33, the Freedom of Information Act, Schedule 1, parts 1-3) and in the Public sector classification guide
• Have received – or have currently pending at the time of application – less than €200,000 of public support in the last 3 financial years
• Have received – or have currently pending at the time of application – less than 325,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) limit of public support in the last 3 financial years

and

• Declare a need for EV charging equipment, or an intent to encourage uptake among their staff and/or fleet
• Have dedicated off-street parking for staff and/or fleet use only
• Have parking facilities that are clearly associated with the applicant premises and be either on-site or at a reasonable distance from the workplace
• Own the property or have consent from the landlord for chargepoints to be installed at all the sites listed in the application

What Does the Workplace Charging Scheme Cover?

This EV grant covers partial costs related to the up-front installation and procurement cost of electric vehicle charging points. Whilst it covers installations that are in multi-use spaces, it does not cover parking spaces that are for the sole use of customers.

It covers up to 75% of total costs (inclusive of VAT) and it is capped at a maximum of:

• £350 per socket
• 40 sockets across all sites per applicant – for instance, if you would like to install them in 40 sites, you will have 1 socket available per site

Upon approval of the application, a code is sent via email to the applicant. This must be forwarded to an OZEV authorised commercial chargepoint installer and it is their responsibility to claim the grant on behalf of the applicant. This must be done within six months of the voucher issue date.

In terms of billing, the installer must not charge their client until the payment is made by OZEV. It’s also worth noting that there is an option to add more charging points later, and this means that companies can scale in line with growth.

As for the future, there is no doubt that electric vehicles are here to stay, but the UK’s chargepoint infrastructure has a long journey ahead. At least by taking control of this through schemes like the Workplace Charging Scheme companies can plan with more certainty.