Workplace Charging Scheme 2023

Give your employees somewhere to charge their EVs with the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS). This grant promotes the uptake of plug-in cars by offering a place for people to regularly charge their EVs outside of their homes.

Learn about the Workplace Charging Scheme, how it works, eligibility, how to apply and more below.

The WCS is a grant for organisations that lowers the cost of installing EV chargers at their premises.

• Up to £350 per socket (VAT inclusive)
• Maximum of 40 charge points per company across all locations
• For businesses, charities and public authorities

The Workplace Charging Scheme is a government grant that gives eligible businesses a 75% discount (up to £350) per charge point.

You can apply for up to 40 charge points across all your sites - whether that’s all 40 in one place, single charge points across 40 locations or any other combination.

It’s awarded by the Office for Zero Emissions, much like all other EV grants, to promote the uptake of electric cars by creating charging infrastructure.

The OZEV offers the Workplace Charging Scheme to assist with the transition to electric driving.

Having charge points in the workplace makes EV ownership easier and more attractive to those looking to make the switch.

If you have a dedicated charge point at work, you can get a small top-up charge before coming home. This is also ideal for anyone who currently can’t get a wall box installed at home.

It’s a pretty simple process. Before applying, businesses should contact a few authorised WCS installers and get a site survey to ensure everything is as it should be.

Other points to consider before applying include:

• The needs of disabled drivers and drivers with reduced mobility
• How the charge points will be maintained
• How you will provide access: will it be free or will employees have to pay
• Whether to make the charging point open to the public

Before you apply to must make sure your organisation is eligible to claim the WCS.

To be eligible for the WCS your organisation must:

• Be a registered business, charity or public sector organisation
  
  • The public sector includes government, armed forces, local governments, the NHS and emergency services
• Have received under €200,000 in public support in the past three financial years (including the current financial year)
• Satisfy state aid requirements for de minimis aid
• Declare a requirement for charging points
  
  • Or declare an intent to promote EV uptake
• Be in the UK (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
• Have off-street parking for staff
• Own the property or have full permission for charge point installation

Business sites where charge points are to be installed must:

• Have off-street parking spaces suitable for charge points
• Have designated parking spaces for the claiming business
  
  • The rest of the car park can be shared by other businesses as long as you have designated spots
• Have a 3kW power supply minimum to each socket that’s not reduced by concurrent use
• Have only one socket installed for each accessible parking spot
• Have already been built - you cannot claim WCS for parking that is yet to be built

If you’re eligible to claim the WCS and you have considered the above points, it’s time to apply.

Applying for the WCS is very easy. Eligible claimants just need to fill out a form on the government’s website.

If you’re successful, you’ll be emailed a unique WCS voucher.

Once you have your voucher you can approach OZEV-approved WCS installers for a quote.

You give the voucher to the installer to be applied before they send you an invoice for their work.

The grant is claimed by the installer on your behalf, with the reduced cost then passed onto you in the invoice.

You have six months from the date you receive the voucher to install the charge points and claim the voucher before it runs out.

If it runs out your voucher will not work and you’ll be liable for the full cost of installation. So always make sure to use your WCS voucher ASAP.

Why should your organisation claim the Workplace Charger Scheme?

Reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint by promoting the uptake of zero-emission driving.

On-site electric car charging is an amazing benefit. This gives your employees greater freedom in their car choice especially if they can’t charge at home. 

You can lower employee Benefit in Kind tax with an EV as they’re only rated at 2% until 2025.