A fixed monthly amount is deducted from your gross salary and in exchange you receive access to a car leased by Tusker.
A Tusker car doesn't require a deposit and includes:
- fully comprehensive insurance
- annual servicing
- routine maintenance
- breakdown cover
- replacement tyres
Eligibility
To be eligible to make an application, you must meet the following criteria:
- be a permanent employee of the council
- be employed on Single Status terms and conditions, Derbyshire pay scales, Soulbury terms and conditions, or NHS terms and conditions
- have successfully passed your probation period
- your salary after the gross deduction for the vehicle and any other deductions for salary sacrifice must remain 15% above the National Minimum Wage (NMW) which currently works out as £14.04 per hour, or an actual basic salary of at least £31,344 per annum - this is currently equivalent to grade 9 and above
- additional payments such as overtime, recruitment or retention payments are not taken into account
- you will only be able to register on the portal if you meet the eligibility criteria listed
Employees on teacher's terms and conditions, relief workers and those on fixed term contracts are not eligible for the scheme.
Employees on a secondment are only eligible for the scheme if their substantive post meets the criteria on this page and will need to contact HR Services by emailing: cst.payrollprocessing@derbyshire.gov.uk before accessing the portal.
Find out more about the scheme and make an application:
- If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can create an account on the Tusker portal using your workplace email address, payroll number and the company code: DCC2. If your payroll number begins with a '0' or a letter, please omit these when registering with the portal.
- Input your gross basic salary (excluding any additional payments such as overtime, or standby for example) and browse through the selection of vehicles that are available to you based on your salary.
- If you wish to proceed with ordering a vehicle, follow the steps on the portal.
- Your application will be forwarded to HR Services to review and confirm your order against the eligibility and minimum salary criteria.
- You will be issued with a 'Salary Sacrifice Agreement' letter. This is to make sure that you are aware of your obligations under the scheme and confirms your intention to reduce your salary by the gross deduction.
- If approved, Tusker will issue you with updates on your vehicle through the portal.
- Once HR Services have been notified of the delivery of your vehicle, your gross salary will be reduced in line with the monthly lease cost of the vehicle.
Important information
The Tusker portal contains lots of useful guides and information to explain the scheme. This includes:
- an employee guide
- home charging guide
- understanding benefits in kind guide
When deductions start
If your vehicle is delivered between the first and the 11th of the month, the gross deduction will be taken from your salary on the payday for the month you received the vehicle. Any deliveries from the 12th to the end of the month will be deducted in the following calendar month.
Length of the lease
The terms available for the duration of the lease range from 24 to 60 months, with cars having a different cost based upon the list price and duration of lease.
Issues logging onto the portal
If you believe you meet the eligibility criteria but are unable to register on the portal, contact HR Services for more information by emailing cst.payrollprocessing@derbyshire.gov.uk.
Pensions
Any employee considering taking out a lease car will need to be aware that the sacrificing of salary for the use of vehicles reduces Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pensionable pay and this will have an impact on both Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme (CARE) and Final Salary accruals.
For CARE, an LGPS member would see the amount added to their pension pot reduced for each year that they have 'salary sacrifice' applied to their pay for the electric and hybrid vehicle scheme.
For employees with membership in the LGPS 'Final Salary' arrangements before April 2014, if they are in 'salary sacrifice' up to and including part of their final year of employment, the value of all of their pre-2014 LGPS membership may be reduced.
Employees can voluntarily opt to purchase additional pension within the LGPS.
Further information about buying extra pension is available from Derbyshire Pension Fund.
How benefits in kind work
A vehicle made available for private use to you through your employer is considered a company car for tax purposes. The current tax tables can be found on the Tusker website.
Benefit in kind means that for employees participating in the scheme, their tax code will change to take out the adjustment of benefits in kind. The adjusted amount will go through payroll each month, and you will pay tax on this amount.
Mileage rates for business travel
You will be reimbursed for business related travel miles in line with our Travel Policy. Please see travelling to work for the latest rates payable to employees undertaking business mileage in a vehicle leased through salary sacrifice. Reimbursement at a rate higher than the HMRC approved rate will be subject to PAYE tax.
Parking or speeding fines
Any parking, congestion charges or speeding fines or similar costs incurred by the employee whilst using the vehicle will be the employee's responsibility.
In the event that an issuing authority contacts Tusker, they will pay the fine and invoice the charges to the council who will re-charge these costs to the employee along with Tusker's administration fee. Any fees or charges will be deducted from the employees next available salary payment.
Change in circumstances
Information about what happens to the vehicle if you leave the council or have statutory leave or sickness is available on the Tusker website.
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