"Can our zero-hours staff join the scheme?" comes up in almost every conversation with an employer running a mixed workforce. The honest answer is: usually not, if "zero-hours" means no formal contract of employment. But that's not the end of the story - variable-pay employees with a contract are a much larger group, and often eligible.

PLEASE NOTE: This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice - for a specific employee's situation, please get in touch with one of the loveelectric team. 

Firstly: what makes any employee eligible for EV salary sacrifice?

Three criteria sit at the core of eligibility: the employee needs a contract of employment, must have completed their probationary period*, and their salary must stay above the National Minimum or National Living Wage after the salary sacrifice deduction - currently £12.71 an hour for employees aged 21 and over, from 1 April 2026 (Source: gov.uk). They also need to be a UK resident for the full lease term, and not planning to resign or retire during it.

The NMW floor is a hard limit, not a soft guideline - the scheme is built around never crossing it. For borderline cases, there's a specific tool to help (more on that below). For the full eligibility policy-setting picture, see our companion guide to EV salary sacrifice eligibility.

*This can be waived if the business agrees that the employee’s lease won’t benefit from the Zero Risk Guarantee.

Zero-hours workers: the honest answer

Employees on a true zero-hours arrangement - no formal contract of employment, no guaranteed hours or guaranteed pay - typically cannot join. A contract of employment is the first barrier to entry, as salary sacrifice needs a fixed, guaranteed salary to reduce; without one, there's nothing predictable to deduct.

This is worth being upfront about with employees, rather than implying there's a workaround. 

For example: Sarah, a retail assistant, is on a zero-hours contract with no guaranteed hours week to week. She isn't eligible right now, which is worth being upfront about. If her contract terms change to a guaranteed salary in future, then the scheme would open up to her.

It's worth noting that a "zero-hours contract" isn't the same thing, legally, as a contract of employment - zero-hours arrangements are usually classed as "worker" contracts rather than employment contracts, which is exactly why they don't meet the necessary criteria for an EV salary sacrifice scheme. If an employee or employer is unsure which category applies, check with HR or the contract itself before assuming either way.

Variable-pay employees: a different, more positive answer

Employees with a contract of employment and a guaranteed base salary - commission-based sales staff, for example, or field-based roles with a set contractual base plus a variable bonus - are usually eligible. The eligibility check runs on the guaranteed contractual base only; the variable element on top doesn't count, because it isn't fixed enough to reliably sacrifice through payroll.

That said, the savings realised will increase as their commission increases.

Take a field sales rep on a £25,000 guaranteed base plus uncapped commission. The eligibility check is run against that £25,000 base, not their total earnings - if the base clears NMW after the deduction, they're eligible, regardless of how much commission they bring in on top.

What HR should do for a mixed workforce

Before rolling out the scheme, it's worth sorting your workforce into three groups: employees on standard contracts (straightforwardly eligible, subject to the NMW check), variable-pay employees with a guaranteed base (potentially eligible) and genuine zero-hours workers without a contract (not currently eligible).

You don't need to calculate the NMW position yourself - loveelectric runs that check as part of onboarding once an employee enters their salary. For employees who aren't eligible, it's better to be upfront early, rather than let them apply and find out later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can zero-hours employees get a salary sacrifice car?

A: Not typically. Zero-hours workers without a formal contract of employment don't meet the contract-of-employment eligibility requirement, which salary sacrifice depends on.

Q: Can commission-based employees get a salary sacrifice car?

A: Yes, if they have a formal contract of employment and their guaranteed base salary stays above the National Minimum Wage after deductions. The commission element doesn't affect eligibility either way.

Q: Who checks whether an employee is eligible?

A: loveelectric runs the eligibility and NMW check as part of onboarding - the employer doesn't need to calculate it themselves.

The zero-hours and variable-pay question is worth asking before rollout, not after - and the answer is more nuanced than a flat no. If you're working out who on your team qualifies, loveelectric will work through eligibility with you directly.