Greene King takes fuel out of WLC calculation

By Gareth Roberts

27 January 2012

Greene King has taken fuel out of its wholelife cost (WLC) equation to ensure the vehicles offered to its employees remain the same.

Fuel is an important part of WLC analysis, particularly when carrying out a funding comparison, but some companies have removed fuel from the equation used to calculate the cost of a vehicle at the point an employee selects it.

The issue comes down to the volatility of fuel prices. A sudden rise in prices can lead to vehicles being pushed above the grade limit. This would mean that a vehicle which was available oneweek could be unavailable the next.

As a result, the WLC analysis conducted by Zenith for Greene King excludes the cost of fuel.

“By working with Zenith to switch to a true wholelife cost analysis, we were able to offer drivers a selection of vehicles that were previously outside their grade,” said Sam Driver, Greene King’s transactional HR manager.

“The new method of calculation was so well received by drivers that some cancelled previously placed orders for vehicles in order to take advantage of the new system.

“Rather than Greene King retaining the cost benefit of establishing the true cost of running each vehicle and setting grades accordingly, the savings were passed on to drivers and the results were used to provide an improved benefit.”

Drivers are dissuaded from choosing thirsty cars because of the link between CO2 and fuel consumption and their need to minimise BIK bills.

Greene King is one of the UK’s leading pub and brewing companies, running 2,400 managed and tenanted pubs, restaurants and hotels.

The company has a fleet of 300 company cars and 100 cash allowance drivers. Zenith provides funding and vehicle management including servicing and maintenance, breakdown recovery, accident management, vehicle administration and vehicle hire, as well as pool car management to reduce ancillary hire car spend.

Zenith has worked closely with Greene King in order to integrate its systems with its existing flexible benefits portal.

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