Workplace EV charging, as an employee programme

What is workplace ev charging?

Workplace EV charging is employer-provided charging for employees and sometimes visitors, sized to how long cars actually sit at the site. Most offices should think in Level 2 ports, access rules and fairness policy before thinking about DC fast charging. The project succeeds when HR, facilities and electrical capacity agree - not when a single pedestal appears without a sign-up system.

Signs you need workplace ev charging

• Employees are already trailing cords or asking for charging as a benefit
• You are competing for talent in a market where workplace charging is table stakes
• A sustainability goal includes employee commute electrification
• Visitor stays are long enough that customer charging is a separate product decision
• The parking garage or lot has spare electrical capacity - or you are renovating it
• You want to pilot a few ports before a campus-wide rollout
• Fleet pool cars and employee cars will share the same site and need rules

Seeing something not on this list? Browse ev chargers problems by symptom →

How workplace ev charging actually works

1. 1

   Define who the programme is for

   Employees only, employees plus visitors, or fleet first? Each audience needs different access control, pricing and parking enforcement. Mixing them on one free pedestal creates conflict by week two.

   Watch for“Open to the public” enabled by default on network software when you meant staff-only. Check the settings like a policy document.

2. 2

   Match power level to dwell time

   Eight-hour office days are Level 2 territory for most commuter batteries. DC fast charging is expensive overkill for cars that sit from 9 to 5 and can create queues and demand charges you did not budget.

   Watch forSales pressure toward DCFC because it looks impressive in a press release. Dwell time is the engineering input.

3. 3

   Count ports from behaviour, not headcount

   Not every EV-driving employee charges every day. Surveys, waitlists and a small pilot beat installing twenty idle pedestals. Share ratios and time limits often matter more than raw port counts.

   Watch forOne port per EV employee as a day-one requirement. Utilisation data should drive expansion.

4. 4

   Write the employee charging policy before energising

   Session time limits, move-out rules when full, whether charging is free or billed, after-hours access, and consequences for ICE vehicles in EV stalls. Policy is infrastructure.

   Watch forFree unlimited charging with no move-out rule. A few long-range cars will camp on ports all week.

5. 5

   Electrical design, networking and accessibility

   Service capacity, load management across ports, network connectivity for access control, and accessible stall design. Coordinate with the broader commercial install discipline for make-ready and utility timelines.

   Watch forConsumer-grade Wi-Fi assumptions in a concrete parking structure. Networking is a facilities problem.

6. 6

   Operate: support, billing, expansion triggers

   Who employees call when a port fails, how costs appear in internal budgets, and what utilisation number triggers the next ports. Workplace charging is an ongoing programme.

   Watch forFacilities discovering on month four that the network subscription auto-renewed at a higher tier nobody approved.

What does workplace ev charging cost?

Workplace pilots with a few Level 2 ports can be modest relative to campus electrical projects; multi-garage rollouts with networking, trenching and service upgrades are capital projects. Operating costs - network fees, maintenance, electricity, demand charges - continue after ribbon-cutting. See the EV chargers cost guide and commercial install page for opex detail.

See the full workplace ev charging cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →