Cycle to work after a year

[chipmonster]

Hi

I am having a small issue with my employer.

The situation is that my collegue has used his bike for work throughout the year and has come to the end of the agreement and they have disposed the bike to him at fair value (5 %).

However, he wants a new bike and the employer is saying that he cannot have one as the government scheme only allows one bike. My argument is that he will have one bike on the scheme as the old bike as been sold off.

All i need to know is what is the legal.

Thanks

 

[fossyant]

Pretty sure you can have another one - most folk seem to do it.

 

[summerdays]

I was under the impression that once you had paid off one bike you could then restart the scheme again too - after all you always need another bike.

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Yes, you're right. In fact the scheme my employer is setting up pushes this as one of the benefits - a new bike every year.

 

[RufusA]

The DFT guidelines specifically state that more than one bicycle can be lent concurrently:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/cycling/cycletoworkschemeimplementat5732?page=1

3).... It is possible to loan two cycles to one employee if, for example, that employee needed a cycle at either end of a train journey between their home and place of work.

The Finance Act 1999 makes no reference to being limited to only one bicycle:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1999/ukpga_19990016_en_5#pt3-pb6-l1g50

So I can see no reason for them to disallow it apart from internal policy. i.e. restricting the availability of employee benefits.

The only real concern an employer should have is if the second bicycle will be used "mainly" for qualifying journeys. Which may be less likely if the employee already has a suitable commuting bicycle!

Rufus.

 

[spandex]

On the C2W scheme you can have as many bikes as you like but the norm is 1 a year.

 

[HF2300]

There isn't a restriction on the number of bikes, but many employers will not want to go above a total of £1000 on any single agreement as that's what's covered by the OFT general consumer credit licence.

Once a loan period has run out, there is nothing to stop the employer running it again on a new agreement. However, bear in mind that this whole scheme is a concession not a right, and is not without cost or hassle for the employer, so it may not be a good idea to put the employer's back up too much.

If I were the employer I might feel that I have helped the employee buy what is probably still a perfectly serviceable bike at a substantial discount, and might not understand why said employee needs another new bike so soon - perhaps even that said employee was trying it on...

 

[Nick1979]

Is there a cost for the employer? Really?

 

[Soltydog]

Is there a cost for the employer? Really?

I can imagine a small initial set up cost, which may hurt a small company more, but the company will also pay reduced NI contributions & depending on number of takers on the scheme may actually save money