Cycle Friendly Employer?

[goo_mason]

Mine gets a big thumbs-up:

Use of the Activity Centre (the gym) changing rooms & showers
Permanent lockers and coin-op lockers
Bike racks and stands in secure multi-storey car-park with CCTV
Bike2Work scheme

No drying racks, but my sweaty kit hangs over the back of the desk partition between it and the wall and dries OK there. I've asked about heated drying facilities for winter but there's nowhere to put these.

I've been in discussion with HR over the last three years about having a workstand, toolkit, track-pump, puncture repair kit etc available for cyclists to borrow at work so that any mechanical issues that occur can be rectified to allow folks to get home again. Last year a budget was agreed and signed off and I supplied the kit list which was going to be bought. Since then - nothing. I'll need to chase that up again.

 

[Cking]

The airline I work for doesn’t do a cycle to work scheme. The rumour is they don’t want to encourage us to cycle to work in case they are sued for encouraging us to use a “Un safe” method of transport if we get knocked over!
The do supply a shower and tumble dryer for the staff for other reasons (if we get covered in nastiness when working on the aircraft toilets!!) I use these and as I’m the only cyclists, THEY ARE ALL MINE!!!
Manchester airport do provide a fantastic covered swipe card accessed bike shed. It is actually closer to the crew room than the car park. They also do a C2W scheme for their employees but that ain’t available to me. They also promote cycling to work and spend money on cycle ways around the airport.

Rgds Cking

 

[Old Walrus]

Good - secure covered parking, lockers, showers, drying room

Bad - two years prevarication about C2W (ongoing)

 

[joggingbob]

The company I work for is very good, (london offices at least). C2W scheme, secure covered cycle stands, showers, (and they provide towels) and this year paid for 2 cycle mechanics to provide a basic service / check.

 

[Greenbank]

(Can only speak for the blokes section...)

Showers - 8 (1000 people in the building).
Changing room - large
Lockers - lots (but not quite enough, I have one though) partly for cyclists but also for...
Gym - 10m x 3m windowless room but not bad at £12 a year.
Bike stands - secure area of basement car park, in a padlocked cage protected by CCTV.
CTW scheme - yes, up to £1500 thanks to company Consumer Credit License, able to top up with own money (no limit).

 

[rusky]

Mine has no secure area so the bike is locked to the fire escape.

No showers or kit drying facilities, I get changed in a dingy cobweb ridden store cupboard under the stairs (not sure if I'm allowed to as no-one knows!), could use the toilet cubicle but it's a bit cramped.

No cycle to work scheme, I did ask but was subjected to a barrage of swearing from the director I spoke to. Something about not spending any money as sales were down! I did point out that the company didn't really have to pay as it was clawed back from my wages & I offered to set it up & administer it.

 

[MickL]

Mines not to bad, not bothered asking about CTW and we dont have showers, only 2 of us cycle in. One thing is they allow us to go 5 min early on a Friday so we can get the early train home (early finish on Fridays). There was mention of getting us a shower and changing room rather than getting changed in the bog but nothing yet but you never know.

 

[Jim_Noir]

My employer is Dutch, so you would think they would be cycle friendly. I tried to get them to put in place the cycle2work scheme, as I had around 20 folks wanting to sign up and cycle to work. They said no, and the reason was that they didn't want to buy bikes that a year down the line the employee didn't buy so the company where left with them. I tried to explain this is not how it works, this fell on deaf ears. I even thought of going to the local MSP/MP to put some pressure on them as 20 folks out of there car isn't to be sniffed at.

There is a bike stand at the front door of the building, then the company who owns the building put that there.

I work mostly night shifts, and security in the building have decided that at 1730 the shower block has to be closed and hot water turned off till 0800. That’ll be no shower then. Emailed HR, in fact I do it every day, to ask WTF... I think they have me on auto delete.

No lockers, so anything that I want to leave(shoes, a hand blender, oats yada yada) that I don’t want to carry everyday is in one of them plastic creates you get out of Woolies (RIP) etc. This is left under the admin girls desk who watches it for me.

So no they are far from friendly

 

[ChrisKH]

Mine is okay. I have the best place to park my bike in the City (very secure, heated, 24 hour security, etc.) and the shower is used only by me and is as good if not better than the Power Shower at home. The only draw back is my boss who keeps walking in when I'm getting changed (does she do it on purpose?!) and the fact that they will not sign up to the Cycle to Work Scheme as only about 5 people are interested.

 

[Arch]

Um? Why does one need a blender and oats at work?

Anyway, my employer is pretty much the definition of cycle friendly:

http://www.velovision.co.uk/index.html

We're just about (this evening) to move to a new office, so I've not had a chance to use the bike racks there yet and see what they are like. The old office had a covered rack, although we locked out bikes to one of the supporting legs, rather than use the wheel bender bit - we only rented an office inside the building. No showers or lockers, but frankly, we don't need them. We're utility cyclists, not boy (girl) racers.

So, apart from a 100% rate for staff cycling to work, perks include thinking/writing about bikes all day, and getting to try out review stuff...

 

[Jim_Noir]

Um? Why does one need a blender and oats at work?

Porrage in the morning before I cycle home, and the blender is for protein shakes. There are no shops near the office and the building is locked down once we are in at night. So on a 12 hour night shift you have to bring dinner, lunch and brekkie in or you are fooked.

 

[Arch]

Porrage in the morning before I cycle home, and the blender is for protein shakes. There are no shops near the office and the building is locked down once we are in at night. So on a 12 hour night shift you have to bring dinner, lunch and brekkie in or you are fooked.

Ah, I understand now!