The Workplace Charging Scheme

Posted on: April 27, 2021

The Workplace Charging Scheme is one of the Government’s programmes to promote the use of electric vehicles via the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV). It means generous grants are available to businesses across the UK to enable customers and staff alike to charge their vehicles.

We’ve created the following short guide on the scheme to help businesses understand what it is, how it works and who can apply. Take a look to find out more…

What is the Workplace Charging Scheme?

Launched by OZEV back in 2016, the Workplace Charging Scheme but updated in December 2020, the scheme allows businesses to apply for grants towards the cost of installing electric vehicle charging points at their premises.

The scheme allows for up to £350 towards each charging point installation with a maximum of 40 charging points per business. That is the equivalent of a huge £14,000 saving that is on offer to businesses looking to install electric vehicle charging points.

Workplace fleet charging

Who Can Apply?

The workplace charging scheme is available to most businesses across all industries as long as they meet a few criteria. Businesses must:

  • be a registered business, charity, or public sector organisation
  • declare a need for electric vehicle charging equipment
  • be located in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
  • have dedicated off-street parking
  • own the property or have consent for installation from the landlord.

There are a few instances when businesses are not eligible for the grant:

  • locations outside England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
  • parking facilities that are part of a domestic property
  • sites that have previously claimed via the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) or Domestic Recharging Scheme (DRS)
  • parking facilities that are solely for customer use
  • parking facilities not designated to the applicant.
Electric charging sign

The Workplace Charging Scheme Process

There are two simple steps for businesses to take to take advantage of the scheme.

Firstly, business owners apply for a voucher from OZEV via its dedicated online application.

Following a successful application, a voucher will be generated and given to the business that can be used towards the installation costs. Businesses can then instruct installation with their electric vehicle charging point installers of choice – as long as they are an approved installer.

Further steps do apply to the application, however, these should be completed by the installation company.

Ongoing Costs & Commitments

Businesses with installed charging points under the scheme must commit to maintaining the points for a minimum period of 3 years and provide anonymised data of usage to OZEV.

Installers may provide a maintenance package that ensures an annual check of the equipment and may also offer repair packages should any faults occur.

How Do I Apply

If you have any questions regarding the scheme, Go Electric is happy to answer them for you. We are a family EV charging point installation team operating across Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

We will be happy to help you throughout the process, from the initial application through to finalising your installation. Get in touch using the form, email us or call one of our team on 0303 100 4101.

Full details of the workplace charging scheme can be found on the Government website.