Retail car parks earn their keep at busy hours. Staff charging should use bays that are not your best customer spaces, ideally where a car can sit for a whole shift. AC chargers match that dwell. Customer charging is a different offer: shorter stays, a payment method, and a willingness to lose a bay. Do not blur them. A workplace grant, if it applies, is about staff, so do not advertise those sockets as a public service.
Staff EV charging at retail sites and the written scope
Customer-facing chargers that are free will be blocked. Price them or accept the blocked bay.
The expensive shortcut on staff EV charging at retail sites
The mistake is painting customer bays green and hoping staff move their cars mid-shift. They will not.
Handover when staff EV charging at retail sites is the issue
Mark staff and customer rules on the drawing and in the staff handbook.
Staff EV charging at retail sites
Night deliveries and doorstaff shifts may be the only cars that sit still. Design for those hours if the shopfloor team arrives by bus.
- Staff dwell belongs off the prime bays
- Workplace funding is not a public offer
- Match the design to who actually drives
- Payment rules must be explicit
What a survey must prove about staff EV charging at retail sites
A single socket behind the warehouse can beat a row of posts on the frontage.
Frequently asked questions
Can a supermarket grant cover the staff bay?
Use the workplace scheme tests, not a customer-destination programme, unless you are in that programme too.
What about click and collect vans?
Fleet vans are a separate dwell and a separate bay from a colleague's car.
Will 7 kW annoy staff?
Not if they are on site for several hours. It will if they only nip in.
Who resets a trip on Sunday?
Name a keyholder. A dead socket on the busiest day is an operational fault.
Core buying guides
Start with these high-intent guides, then dig into the rest of the library.
Related guides
Sources and further reading
How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local EV Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.