Switching to hire cars saves Investors in People Scotland £1,500 per driver

Investors in People Scotland has saved an average of £1,500 per driver per year by replacing mileage reimbursement with car hire through a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Employees used to travel to all parts of the country from the Edinburgh office using their own cars and then recharge the mileage covered.

In some cases, employees were driving more than 15,000 miles a year in their own cars, which caused a significant amount of wear and tear.

Investors in People Scotland looked for a more effective way to keep employees mobile and daily rental emerged as a strong option due to reduced costs and lower CO2 emissions, as daily rental cars are newer and more fuel-efficient.

Employees book vehicles quickly and directly using Enterprise’s online booking tool. This platform means vehicles can be booked even at the last minute, and gives full control of rentals in real time without Investor in People Scotland having to telephone.

Roz Haughey, business growth co-ordinator for Investors in People Scotland, said: “We could see that our employees wanted an alternative to having to use their own vehicles.

"Even though we offered a good mileage reclaim option, the distances they were covering meant their own vehicles were being run into the ground.

“Daily rental means we have access to a pool of well-maintained, fuel-efficient vehicles at all times at a pre-agreed rate. The Enterprise Rent-A-Car branch is also very close to us, which means we can easily rent cars at the last minute if we need to.

“Even though we are only a small business using one or two vehicles at a time, we have already seen the positive impact of using car hire.”

Adrian Bewley (pictured), head of business rental for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said: “Replacing mileage reimbursement with car hire can have an immediate impact on costs, even for small businesses where only a few people need to drive for work.

“Previously, many organisations saw mileage reimbursement as a discrete ‘perk’ and worried that employees would resist any effort to remove the casual income that is possible when you drive your own vehicle.

“Today, as is the case with Investors in People Scotland, employees see that mileage reimbursement places a huge toll on their own cars and affects resale values. Instead, daily rental is an easy solution. We have branches all over the country and can make sure a vehicle is with the customer very quickly and efficiently, with no parking issues, lower emissions and thorough maintenance.”