08 Aug 2019

How to help your employees reduce the cost of fuel

Despite the rise in flexible working, it’s likely that the majority of your workforce will commute to work most days, and many of them by car. Not only does this have a significant negative impact on the environment due to CO₂ emissions, but it can also put a strain on your employees’ finances. With the cost of fuel and transport consistently rising, employees are having to part with a bigger proportion of their hard-earned salaries just to get to work. This can be a cause of stress and can have an impact on employees’ financial wellbeing and engagement, so it’s helpful to provide support where possible.

2792-1565185833_HowtohelpyouremployeesreducethecostMAIN.jpg We’ve outlined some key ways that companies can help employees reduce the cost of their fuel consumption.

1. Provide tips on fuel-efficiency

There are several tips and tricks that your employees can adopt when they’re behind the wheel that will help them use their fuel more efficiently. These include:

driving at a speed which optimises fuel consumption
keeping windows closed at high speeds
removing roof racks when they’re not being used
accelerating gradually to avoid over-revving
avoiding harsh braking and allowing the car to stop naturally when possible
removing excess clutter from inside the car to reduce the weight
keeping tyres at optimal inflation levels.

Encouraging your employees to keep their cars as aerodynamic and operationally efficient as possible, and to drive in a fuel-efficient way, will mean they won’t need to fill their cars up as often. This also means they will have more fuel to use for purposes other than their commute to work.

Now, you might think there may only be marginal gains here, but one of our employees has managed to save more than £1,300 a year simply by slowing down from 70 mph to 55 mph on their motorway journey to work! That’s definitely worth the extra 10-minute travel time.

2. Encourage them to ditch the car

For some employees, it could be possible for them to travel to work without using a car at all. To encourage them to swap their car for a cheaper, greener method, you could start a Cycle to Work scheme, for example. There are plenty of ways you can get on board by registering for this government backed initiative online.

Alternatively, you can simply encourage your employees to cycle or walk when possible, as not only will this save them money, but it’s a fantastic way to reduce your business’ carbon footprint. This is something we as a business are personally committed to, as the environment is one of our core values. Also, as we’ve discussed in our blog post about the benefits of walking, encouraging your employees to walk to work, or even walk part of their journey, will likely align with your wellbeing agenda too.

3. Suggest car sharing

Getting to work by car might be the only option for some of your employees, and so car sharing is a great way to significantly reduce fuel consumption as well as emissions. To encourage your employees to share a lift to work with colleagues, you could create a company-wide campaign or even an incentive. Alternatively, you could actively set up lines of communication between employees, to give them an extra bit of help to organise it amongst themselves.

By sharing the cost of fuel with another colleague or a number of colleagues, your employees could significantly reduce the amount of money they spend on fuel every month. Also, the environmental benefit of using one car rather than multiple cars for the same journey is obvious.

4. Offer employees a fuel savings card

One of the most effective ways to save your employees money when it comes to their daily commute and on fuel in general, is to offer them a fuel card. Used just like a credit or debit card, fuel cards allow the user to pay less than the price at pump.

peoplevalue’s BP Plus Fuel Savings Card is a valuable element of our advantage benefits and discounts platform. It allows our clients’ employees to save a considerable amount of money on fuel purchases for both work and personal use. Eligible for use at more than 1,200 BP fuel stations across the UK, even at motorway services, employees can make savings of up to 25p per litre. On top of this, money is automatically debited from the user’s account so not only is it fuss-free for them, you as a business don’t need to deal with any administrative tasks.

By simply swapping their usual card payment method for a fuel card, employees could save hundreds of pounds. With car travel such an integral part of so many people’s daily routine, imagine the impact these savings could have on your employees’ lives.

Hopefully our handy advice has given you some ideas on how you can help your employees save money on fuel. If you’d like to find out more about our unique BP Plus Fuel Savings Card, book a demo and we can explain it in further detail. We can also show you the rest of the fantastic features available on advantage.

This is a sponsored article provided by peoplevalue