Company: Waterlooville Golf Club, Hampshire
Name: Mark Wycherley, General Manager
Sector: Leisure / Hospitality
The challenge: a great workplace, but limited benefits
The golf and leisure industry isn't known for generous employee benefits packages. As Mark puts it: "We get paid, we get free parking and half-price food, and that's about it."
For a not-for-profit members' club, the reason is structural - any increase in costs gets passed directly to members through subscription rates. Unsurprisingly, golfers don't like seeing those go up.
Mark wanted to change that. He'd seen too many good people treat the club as a stopgap rather than a career and wanted to give them a reason to stay. The catch? Any new benefit had to be cost-neutral to the club.
Why EV salary sacrifice was the answer
An EV salary sacrifice scheme ticked one very key box: it costs the employer nothing.
For employees, it bundles everything together - insurance, road tax, servicing, maintenance - into a single pre-tax salary deduction. As Mark discovered when he ran the numbers on his own situation:
"You think, I'm going to give up £400–500 from my salary. But you probably already are when you compare it to a petrol or diesel car - you're just not paying it in equal monthly instalments."
There was a sustainability angle too. The club had already invested in solar panels, wildflower areas and beehives across its 100 acres. An EV scheme was a natural next step in reducing the carbon footprint of employees' commutes.
Why loveelectric?
Mark looked at two other providers before choosing loveelectric. Two things made the difference.
The platform. Mark needed something that would work for him as an employer and be intuitive enough for his team to pick up without hand-holding. He found loveelectric's portal easy to navigate from both perspectives.
The reloved marketplace for used car options. This was the clincher. loveelectric's used EV offering opened up options that wouldn't have been affordable otherwise:
"The secondhand vehicle offering opened up a lot of additional opportunity for employees to get themselves maybe a little bit more luxury in a vehicle than they might otherwise be able to afford. People could look at something a bit bigger, or a bit nicer, than they might ordinarily get."
For a workforce where not everyone is on a high salary, that breadth of choice matters.
The impact: commitment, retention and a second car already on the way
Multiple employees have signed up so far - most notably Mark himself and his colleague Chris, the Course Manager. The effect on both of them has been immediate.
"We've committed to a four-year lease and we see ourselves being here for at least another four years. Who knows - maybe signing into another lease after that."
Mark is candid that the scheme has shifted how he thinks about his career. Rather than always aspiring to the next level, it's prompted him to take stock of what he already has:
"Is it all about moving to a top-100 golf course? Or is it actually about lifestyle, work-life balance, and what we're getting in return from our employer?"
Chris is already looking at a second car through the scheme. Plus, the wider team are talking about it - exactly the kind of organic buzz that makes a benefit scheme grow over time.
Advice for other business leaders
His pitch to anyone in a similar position - particularly those who want a car themselves but are also responsible for implementing the scheme:
"Why wouldn't you offer it to your employees? It costs the employer nothing. It's an added benefit they're not obliged to take. But at some point, they're going to be looking for a new car - and whether it's now or three years down the line, it's there for them."
A personal, supportive experience
Despite the entire process being remote, Mark felt genuinely looked after by the loveelectric team throughout:
"You feel like you get to know the team, they get to know you. They care: wanting to get you a vehicle that you'll love and want to drive. Every step of the way, everyone was looking out for us and being as helpful as they could be."