How to use The Charge Scheme at Gridserve chargers
A step by step guide to paying for Gridserve rapid charging through The Charge Scheme app and card, with pre-tax savings via salary sacrifice.
13 October 2025 · 6 min read
Contents
Gridserve operates one of the largest rapid and ultra-rapid charging networks in the UK, including its Electric Forecourts and hubs at motorway services. For employees who drive long distances or do not have off-street parking, Gridserve is often where most of their charging spend actually happens.
Here is how to use it through The Charge Scheme, and why it is worth doing.
Gridserve is included in the network
The Charge Scheme app and charge card run on Plugsurfing, which covers Gridserve alongside Tesla Superchargers and the rest of the UK's 76,000+ public chargepoints. There is no separate sign-up, no separate app to download, and no need to hold a Gridserve account to pay through the scheme.
Step by step
- Open the Charge Scheme app (or have the charge card to hand) before you arrive at the charger.
- Locate the Gridserve unit in the app map, or simply tap or scan at the charger if it supports contactless-style payment through the network.
- Start the session through the app or card. The connector, power rate and pricing are shown before you plug in.
- Charge and unplug as normal. There is no receipt to save; the session is logged automatically.
- The cost appears on your monthly statement, ready to be deducted from gross pay.
Why paying this way matters
Rapid and ultra-rapid charging, which is most of what Gridserve offers, is priced at a premium to home electricity because of the infrastructure and grid connection costs behind it. Paid for from take-home pay, that premium is felt in full by the employee.
Paid through salary sacrifice, the cost comes out of gross salary before income tax and National Insurance. A higher rate taxpayer effectively saves 42% on every pound spent at a Gridserve charger. For someone doing regular long trips, that adds up quickly.
| Annual Gridserve spend | Basic rate saving (28%) | Higher rate saving (42%) |
|---|---|---|
| £300 | £84 | £126 |
| £600 | £168 | £252 |
| £1,000 | £280 | £420 |
Run your own figures through the savings calculator.
Mixing Gridserve with home and workplace charging
Most employees will not charge exclusively at Gridserve. The scheme is built to combine all three: home charging tracked through smart meter or manual reading, workplace charging if you provide it, and public sessions like Gridserve, all rolled into a single monthly statement and a single payroll deduction. Employees do not need to reconcile three different payment methods themselves.
Business mileage is handled separately
If an employee uses a Gridserve charger while on a business trip, that portion of the cost should be reimbursed as a business expense rather than paid personally, using HMRC's Advisory Electricity Rate or evidenced actual costs. That is a different process to the salary sacrifice saving described here, and it is exactly what our Reimburse product is designed to handle for fleet and procurement teams.
Getting this set up for your team
Adding The Charge Scheme does not touch your existing EV salary sacrifice or company car arrangement. It bolts on alongside it:
- Sign the agreement, confirm who is eligible
- Add a single deduction line to payroll
- We manage employee comms, onboarding and support, including how to use the network at Gridserve and everywhere else
See the how it works page for the full mechanics, or the HR teams page for what this means for your benefits offering.
Next steps
If your drivers are already relying on Gridserve for long journeys, book a demo and we will walk through what the scheme would save them.
See what you could save on charging
Salary sacrifice takes 20-50% off the cost of EV charging, at home, at work and in public.
