Workplace EV charging for staff, visitor and fleet parking

Who workplace chargers serve

Workplace chargers are for people while they're at work: your staff, your pool and fleet cars, and visitors to your premises. The smart charging regulations define a workplace charge point in much the same way: one for people at their place of work, visitors included. A workplace charger the general public can never use isn't a public charge point, so the public charging duties don't apply. That exemption doesn't stretch to customers: the public charging regulations' workplace definition leaves out people intending to buy goods or services. Open it to the public, even only in the evening, and it may come under them; our destination EV charging page explains what that involves.

Fleets that need vehicles back on the road within the hour need DC rapid charging, covered on our commercial EV charging page. Home chargers for staff are on our EV charger installation hub.

The Workplace Charging Scheme in its final year

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) has extended the scheme for a final year, to 31 March 2027. It's open in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to businesses, charities, public sector organisations and small accommodation businesses. A business's chargers must serve dedicated off-street parking for staff or fleet, not customers; for charities, public bodies and small accommodation businesses there's no restriction on who uses the parking.

Order matters. Have the site surveyed, apply online, and if you're successful a voucher arrives by email within 5 working days. It lasts 180 days, in which the chargers must be installed and the grant claimed by the installer. Only an OZEV-authorised installer can claim, and only for models on OZEV's approved commercial list, so ask any installer to show their authorisation before you apply. Applicants must not exceed £315,000 of minimal financial assistance over three financial years, this grant included.

OZEV's separate infrastructure grant for staff and fleets has closed: it stopped taking installer claims on 26 May 2026. Correct as of 15 October 2026.

Scottish funding for rural workplaces

Energy Saving Trust's workplace charge point funding, paid for by Transport Scotland, covers up to 100% of costs, to a maximum of £5,000, for microbusinesses, sole traders and third sector organisations on a Scottish island or in categories 5 to 8 of the Scottish Government's urban rural classification. Category 6 covers places of under 3,000 people within 30 minutes' drive of a town of 10,000 or more, so villages near Central Belt towns can qualify.

A microbusiness here means nine or fewer full-time employees, turnover of £632,000 or less or a balance sheet of up to £316,000, and at least two years' trading from Scottish premises. The chargers must be private, for staff or fleet only, and the installer must be approved by both Energy Saving Trust and OZEV. Don't start work before the grant offer arrives. You may also be eligible for the Workplace Charging Scheme, so tell your installer if you're applying to both. Correct as of 15 October 2026.

Sizing chargers to your car park and your supply

Start with how long cars stay, not the biggest charger. Energy Saving Trust describes standard chargepoints, under 8 kW, as suited to vehicles parked for several hours, such as during working hours. A 22 kW charger needs a three-phase supply, and if the car's onboard charger accepts less, that's the limit.

Then add up the load. Twenty 7 kW chargers running at once would draw 140 kW on top of the building's own demand. Load management shares the available supply between chargers, slowing sessions when the building is busy, so you can fit more sockets without a bigger connection.

Every charger must be reported to the network operator: SP Energy Networks in central and southern Scotland or SSEN in the north. Both usually let the installer connect and then notify within 28 days where the site's maximum demand stays within 60 A, and require an application before installation above that. Chargers are loads, so the G98 and G99 generation forms don't apply. Our network operator page explains the process.

Smart charging rules for workplace chargers

Workplace and home chargers sold in Great Britain since 30 June 2022 must meet the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021; public chargers and rapid chargers of 50 kW and above are excluded. A compliant charger can send and receive information, measures the electricity it uses, keeps charging if its communications drop, meets security requirements, and by default applies a random delay of up to 10 minutes when a session starts, which the owner can cancel.

It also comes with pre-set charging hours outside the weekday peaks of 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm, which the owner can change or remove. On a workplace charger that's a decision for commissioning day: leave the defaults and a car plugged in at 8.30am may not start charging until 11am unless someone overrides them. Chargers funded through the Workplace Charging Scheme must comply with these regulations.

When Scottish building standards require chargers

Under building standard 7.2, in force since 5 June 2023, a new non-domestic building with more than 10 parking spaces within its curtilage must make provision for EV charging. The Scottish Government's technical handbook sets that as enabling infrastructure, meaning ducting to future charger positions, for at least half the spaces, plus chargers of at least 7 kW per socket so that one space in every 10 has access to one. Covered car parks are exempt from the charger part.

Major renovations count too: where more than 25% of the building envelope is renovated and the works include the car park or the electrics, the same provision applies, up to a cost cap of 7% of the renovation. Buildings with 10 or fewer spaces, and ordinary alterations, fall outside the standard.

Tax: staff charging, VAT and capital allowances

HMRC confirms there has been no taxable benefit since 6 April 2018 when employees charge at or near their workplace, provided charging is available to all your employees, or all those at that site. The exemption covers the electricity and the cost of the facilities, for any vehicle the employee drives or travels in. It doesn't cover charging at home or repaying public charging costs, and the benefit becomes taxable if offered through an optional remuneration arrangement such as salary sacrifice.

On the business side, installation on your premises carries 20% VAT. The 100% first-year allowance for chargepoint equipment runs to 31 March 2027 for companies and 5 April 2027 for income tax payers, and applies only to the part of the cost no grant has covered. Speak to your accountant; our business funding page explains the wider rules.

How a workplace project runs

We survey first, check your supply's maximum demand, and plan sockets around how your staff actually park. Any grant must be applied for before work starts and needs an installer approved for that scheme, and the network operator is notified or asked as the rules require. Installation is by our in-house team and vetted MCS-certified trade partners, to BS 7671 and the IET Code of Practice, and we commission the chargers with access control, charging hours and any staff tariff set the way you want.

Get your free site survey, or book a free feasibility study if solar or a battery is part of the plan; our commercial renewable energy page shows what that can cover.

What's included

• Free site survey with a maximum-demand check on your supply
• Socket plan sized to your car park, with load management so more bays share the same supply
• Network operator notification or application to SP Energy Networks or SSEN
• Smart-compliant chargers, with default charging hours set to suit your working day at commissioning
• Guidance on the Workplace Charging Scheme and Scottish rural funding, which must be applied for before work starts and need an approved installer
• Access control and staff tariffs if you want drivers to pay
• Installation to BS 7671 and the IET Code of Practice, commissioning and handover documents

Frequently asked questions