The Electric Car Scheme
vs Tusker
Compare EV Salary Sacrifice Schemes from The Electric Car Scheme and Tusker
Choosing a salary sacrifice provider matters. Pricing, car choice, risk protection and ease of running the scheme all affect whether it works for your business and stays cost-neutral. The Electric Car Scheme and Tusker both offer electric cars through salary sacrifice, and both cover new, used and hybrid cars in an all-inclusive package.
The main differences are how they price, when early termination protection starts, whether employees can salary sacrifice charging costs, the service, and how employer National Insurance savings are handled. The best way to compare is to run like-for-like quotes and see which fits your priorities.
At a Glance: Key Differences Between The Electric Car Scheme and Tusker
The Electric Car Scheme offers new and used electric and hybrid cars, sourced from across the leasing market. It compares prices across several leasing companies to find competitive rates at any given time. Tusker offers new and used cars in petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric, mostly through its own supply and funding, which shapes the cars and funding options available at any time.
On risk, The Electric Car Scheme includes Complete Employer Protection as standard from day one, with no excess and no waiting period, so employers aren't left paying early termination costs. Tusker's Lifestyle Protection typically starts around three months into the lease and covers redundancy, resignation, long-term sickness and parental leave.
The two also differ on charging. The Electric Car Scheme lets employees salary sacrifice their charging costs at home, work and in public through The Charge Scheme, while Tusker does not offer salary sacrifice on charging.
Both schemes can run at no net cost to the employer. With The Electric Car Scheme, employers can also choose to keep their National Insurance savings or reinvest them to make cars more affordable for employees.
The Strongest Prices for Employee Electric Cars
The Electric Car Scheme aggregates lease rates from leading UK leasing companies and compares them through a single pricing engine, so employees get the most competitive rate available across those funders at the time of order, rather than pricing from a single source. This covers a broad range of new and used electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrids under 75g/km CO2, and hundreds of used EVs and hybrids at any time, often 30–40% cheaper than the new equivalent.
Tusker offers over 1,000 cars from all major manufacturers, in petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric, and both new and used. It sources vehicles mainly through its own supply and funding arrangements rather than comparing rates across a panel of funders.
Because both providers offer used and hybrid vehicles alongside new EVs, a scheme can be made accessible to a wider share of the workforce, not just higher earners. Used cars in particular carry a lower monthly cost, which helps open salary sacrifice to employees across all salary bands, including those in the basic rate tax band.
Risk and Early Termination Protection Comparison
Most senior HR professionals see early departures as a risk in salary sacrifice, since an employee may leave while still having a car on the scheme. That makes strong early termination protection an important factor for large organisations choosing an EV salary sacrifice scheme.
The Electric Car Scheme includes Complete Employer Protection as standard from day one. It protects the employer from early termination charges when a lease has to end early for reasons such as resignation, redundancy, dismissal, parental leave, long-term sickness, loss of licence and death. There is no waiting period, no excess, and no caps or usage limits.
The same protection extends to employees through Employee Life Event Support. If an employee's circumstances change, for example serious illness, bereavement, or a significant drop in household income, they can return the car without penalty. This means both the employer and the employee are covered from the start of the lease.
Employer protection: what's covered, and from when
Tusker details reflect what is stated on tuskercars.com. Correct as of July 2026.
| Event | The Electric Car Scheme | Tusker |
|---|---|---|
| Resignation | Yes, from day 1 | From ~3 months |
| Redundancy | Yes, from day 1 | From ~3 months |
| Parental leave | Yes, from day 1 | From ~3 months |
| Long-term sickness | Yes, from day 1 | From ~3 months |
| Dismissal | Yes, from day 1 | Not stated on Tusker's site |
| Loss of licence | Yes, from day 1 | Not stated on Tusker's site |
| Death | Yes, from day 1 | Not stated on Tusker's site |
| Excess to pay | None | Not stated on Tusker's site |
| Caps or usage limits | None | Not stated on Tusker's site |
| Early termination fees covered | Yes | From ~3 months, for covered events |
| Vehicle damage costs covered | Yes | Not stated on Tusker's site |
Tusker's Lifestyle Protection typically starts around three months into each lease and, per tuskercars.com, covers redundancy, resignation, long-term sickness and parental leave. Cover for other events, any excess, caps, or vehicle damage is not stated on Tusker's website, so is marked "Not stated" rather than assumed.
Service, Technology and Portals Comparison
Both The Electric Car Scheme and Tusker provide employee portals, employer support, and integrations. Both also offer Single Sign On and integration with major benefits platforms.
The Electric Car Scheme gives employers a portal that brings approvals, payroll reporting, live order tracking, financial data and sustainability reporting together in one place. Employees get their own portal to browse cars, build quotes, add insurance and charging, place orders and manage their lease over time. It connects to major benefits and payroll providers through API and SFTP, with Single Sign On for employees, and every employer gets a dedicated Customer Success Manager for launch support, webinars, communications packs and ongoing help. The technology is built to cut admin, remove manual uploads and double entry, and give real-time visibility of uptake, savings and carbon impact.
Tusker provides a self-serve online driver portal where employees can build and order cars, along with integration with benefits platforms, Single Sign On, and dedicated account management. The specific tools and integrations each provider offers differ, so it's worth checking each against your own IT, security and procurement requirements.
Charging: EV Charging Salary Sacrifice Comparison
For many employees, charging is the biggest ongoing cost of running an electric car. The Electric Car Scheme treats charging as part of the benefit, not an add-on.
Through The Charge Scheme, employees can salary sacrifice all their EV charging, at home, at work and in public, and save around 20 to 50% on charging costs over the life of the lease. They can also add home charge point installation within salary sacrifice, so the cost of getting set up to charge at home is included too.
Tusker does not currently offer a way to salary sacrifice charging costs across home, workplace and public charging. Making charging more affordable in this way can help more employees feel confident switching to an electric car.
Cost to Run and Employer NI Sharing
Both The Electric Car Scheme and Tusker can operate at no net cost to the employer. The lease cost is recovered through the employee's salary sacrifice, and the associated tax savings cover the rest.
With The Electric Car Scheme, the lease cost is offset by the employee's salary sacrifice. Because gross salaries reduce, the employer pays less in National Insurance, and VAT can be recovered on eligible parts of the lease. By default, the employer keeps those National Insurance savings, but can choose to keep them or reinvest up to 100% to lower the price for employees.
Tusker's scheme can also operate at no net cost to the employer. Tusker's website doesn't set out how it handles Employer National Insurance savings, so it's worth asking them directly if that flexibility matters to you.
Many employers share a large share of their National Insurance savings with employees to keep cars affordable and boost take-up, while keeping some back to fund wider people and climate initiatives.
Why Choose The Electric Car Scheme Over Tusker?
For organisations comparing The Electric Car Scheme with Tusker, the decision usually comes down to the offering, protection and control that fit your workforce.
The Electric Car Scheme offers electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, a large range of used EVs, and cars sourced from across the leasing market with prices compared across several funders. Employer protection is included as standard, with no caps, no excess and cover from day one. Employees can also salary sacrifice their charging at home, work and in public. The portals, technology and integrations are built to reduce admin, and the scheme can run at no net cost to the employer, with the flexibility to keep or reinvest Employer National Insurance savings to lower prices for employees.
If you'd like to see how this compares with your current or proposed scheme, The Electric Car Scheme can put together a tailored comparison based on your organisation's requirements. If you're still weighing your options, our Tusker alternatives guide covers it in more detail.
Be the Hero and Make Net Zero the Obvious Choice for your Team
Reward your employees, attract the best talent and drive your sustainability goals - all with one simple, cost-free benefit: The Electric Car Scheme.