Car dealers could forge tie-ins with SMEs to help their employees switch out of older diesel vehicles if a proposal made by a specialist in employee and consumer engagement is heeded.

Sodexo, specialists in employee and consumer engagement, is calling on employers to support employees who are at risk of huge expense or reduced asset value as diesel cars face the effects of stringent government legislation to cut NOx emissions.

James Malia, Sodexo’s director of employee benefits, Sodexo, said: “There is a real risk that employees could experience hefty financial problems if the rumoured schemes are introduced.

“Employers that act now to put measures in place to address this issue will ease any potential longer-term impact that these schemes may have.”

Diesel car owners in the UK are sitting tight, waiting to find out how the government’s consultation on the potential diesel scrappage and the expected taxes will impact them, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond set to announce changes to the VED road tax system in his Autumn Statement.

The government’s consultation, meanwhile, will aim to get heavily polluting diesel vehicles off the streets in an attempt to reduce the dangerous levels of pollution found in UK towns and cities.

Local governments have 18 months to produce plans to clamp down on heavily polluted areas, with many considering additional taxes for the most polluted areas or for diesel drivers, indirect costs are still a possibility.

And the government’s consideration of a scrappage scheme to boost the ability of motorists driving older diesel vehicles to buy a new, less-polluting car seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Calling on employers to help take up the slack and help its staff to get into a new car, Malia said: “Launching tax efficient Ultra-Low Emission (ULE) car schemes is one solution that will be popular with employees who are affected by these changes; our research found that 1-in-5 employees would like to see car financing options as part of their employee benefits package.”