ACFO survey: fleets have little interest in salary sacrifice

2010-08-04

Although salary sacrifice schemes are being promoted by vehicle providers as the new employee benefit for 2010 and beyond, a survey by ACFO, the fleet operators’ organisation, has revealed interest levels are lower than marketplace comments would suggest.

The accelerating arrival from vehicle manufacturers of low-emission cars twinned with attractive corporate and personal tax rates on those vehicles is making company car salary sacrifice a fast-emerging concept within employee recruitment and retention packages.

While the concept is in its relative infancy, vehicle financial experts believe salary sacrifice schemes represent a sea-change in the fleet industry that is set to become a huge part of organisations’ remuneration strategies in the future.

But, according to ACFO’s voluntary and anonymous online survey interest levels are relatively low. Results included the facts that:

• 24.2% of respondents have never looked at the salary sacrifice option
• Only 36.6% are thinking about looking at salary sacrifice
• 21.7% have ‘no interest’ in salary sacrifice schemes
• Just 17.1% are currently analysing the salary sacrifice option

ACFO membership secretary and director Stewart Whyte said: “We know many ACFO members have seen merit in a salary sacrifice-type arrangement, as an extension to the range of employee benefits on offer. Some have also seen this as a complete alternative to the use of more traditional fleet operating methods.

“As a result, most providers will, I am sure, acknowledge that salary sacrifice schemes can be an excellent product under specific fleet operating circumstances but cannot be considered as having universal relevance.”

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