Cycle to Work Scheme

[ChrisKH]

I have been off line for a while.........my new firm are interested in setting up a C2W scheme and we have about 420 employees in the UK. Where would I start to research this? I'm looking for links to appropriate websites and the current pros and cons.

 

[wiggydiggy]

http://tinyurl.com/3dlfnnh

Its worth setting up, theres a few changes later this year my view is its still worthwhile.

 

[2Loose]

http://tinyurl.com/3dlfnnh

Smart arse!


Try this one for a start

It is recognised that administering the scheme yourselves in conjunction with the lbs gives a much better saving rate for the end user, and apparently doesn't take much work either.

However, many companies employee Cyclescheme (CycleScam[sup]TM[/sup] Norm) who will do the majority of the legal and administrative work in return for a cut of the potential savings.

 

[ChrisRicho]

http://tinyurl.com/3dlfnnh

Its worth setting up, theres a few changes later this year my view is its still worthwhile.

Ha thats great

 

[wiggydiggy]

Hehe sorry couldnt resist lol

I am a fan of the C2W scheme though and would recommend it, yes it might take a bit of work to get going but it seems worth it.

 

[lejogger]

I have been off line for a while.........my new firm are interested in setting up a C2W scheme and we have about 420 employees in the UK. Where would I start to research this? I'm looking for links to appropriate websites and the current pros and cons.

If the administrative burden to set up your own scheme is too great, then try to make sure you join one where the bikes become the property of your employer rather than a 3rd party initially. This way, they have the control over how much the employee repays, and the manner in which the exchange of ownership is handled (if appropriate). This will maximise the savings to the employee. Bike shops obviously make their profits on the sale of the bike and the return trade. 3rd party companies providing the admin support make their profit by topslicing the savings that should be passed on to the employee. My advice is to therefore avoid these.

Are you a national or regionally based company? This might affect whether you choose a scheme run by a national firm (e.g. Halfords) or whether you have good local bike shops that all your staff can utilise. If you are spread over a large area you may find that some offers/warranties/customer service are not available to all.

 

[primalgeek]

http://www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/cycling/cycletoworkguidance/

seems a good place to start.

You should highlight to your employer that they should consider it as a 'salary plus' arrangement and do not need to recover the cost of the bike from you over the period of the scheme (see section 5 of doc linked in the above).

 

[Cyclist33]

I think it sucks now since the government changed the rules mid-way through my hire agreement. My choice now is to buy the bike outright and make a saving of less than 10%, or pay another 50 quid to continue hiring the bike for another 3 years, during which time it's not legally mine. And during that time who knows if the government may change the rules again so I may end up having to pay yet more. I can't afford to buy it outright now at £160 so I'm stuck with the 3 year extended hire.

My advice is to f**k cycle to work and if you want to get a bike or encourage others, go for some test rides then look online for one of the numerous much better % discounts and get interest free credit if you ain't got the cash.

At least you'll know what your repayment contract is from the start so there won't be nasty surprises down the line.

Stu

 

[2Loose]

I think it sucks now since the government changed the rules mid-way through my hire agreement. My choice now is to buy the bike outright and make a saving of less than 10%, or pay another 50 quid to continue hiring the bike for another 3 years, during which time it's not legally mine. And during that time who knows if the government may change the rules again so I may end up having to pay yet more. I can't afford to buy it outright now at £160 so I'm stuck with the 3 year extended hire.

My advice is to f**k cycle to work and if you want to get a bike or encourage others, go for some test rides then look online for one of the numerous much better % discounts and get interest free credit if you ain't got the cash.

At least you'll know what your repayment contract is from the start so there won't be nasty surprises down the line.

Stu

The rules haven't changed much, but what has changed is the way Cyclescheme deals with them...which is not the most beneficial way. In other words, blame your employer & Cyclescheme for the decreased savings, not the Govt (for a change). My employer deals with Cyclescheme, but makes it far more beneficial to me by allowing me to pay the Tax on the final payment (which is all HMRC really wants after all), rather than the actual full 25% final payment to Cyclescam. Much bigger saving for me that way, also no big lump sum after a year to pay. I may even do it again...I calculate that I saved over £300 on a grands worth of bike kit this year, but that would have been closer to £100 if Cyclescheme had got its way.

 

[Norm]

.I calculate that I saved over £300 on a grands worth of bike kit this year, but that would have been closer to £100 if Cyclescheme had got its way.

Which is in a nutshell, the issue I have with CycleScam.

They are a commercial organisation, in it for a quick buck and they are dragging down the reputation of the C2W regs by their implementation.

 

[boydj]

I'm with 2Loose on this. I've just had a response from my employer to the e-mail below saying that they were contractually obliged to hand the bike over to Cyclescheme at the end of the lease period - which I actually find hard to believe.

I would definitely recommend that you encourage your company to deal directly with bike shops and run the scheme for themselves rather than go through a third-party provider like Cyclescheme. They've been chasing me for a decision and I guess I'm just going to have to fork out the £70.

Having bought a bike through the bike-to-work scheme a year ago, I’ve had an e-mail from Cyclescheme giving me three options for dealing with the bike at the end of the hire period. I have some concerns about what is being offered and would like to explore the options that have not been offered, but should be available to me.​

Before going into the details of my concerns, I’ll run through the process as it has worked so far :

• User selects a bike and gets a quote from the bike shop
• MyEmployer process the quote – pay Cyclescheme
• Cyclescheme issues the voucher, user collects the bike, which is now owned by MyEmployer and leased to the user.
• User pays MyEmployer a monthly rental via salary sacrifice over the next year.

By the end of the year, MyEmployer has recovered the full cost of the bike from the user plus MyEmployer has saved 12% of the user’s payments in reduced NI payments on the user’s salary. User has saved tax and NI deductions on the salary sacrificed.

Now, at the end of the year, MyEmployer has passed ownership of the bike to Cyclescheme and they have offered the user the choice of

• Pay 7% of the initial cost of the bike to rent the bike from Cyclescheme for the next three years, with the bike remaining the property of Cyclescheme OR
• User pays Cyclescheme the ‘fair market value’ of the bike (25% of the initial cost if over £500) OR
• Return the bike to Cyclescheme at the user’s cost

My concerns about this are as follows:

• The bike is an asset owned by MyEmployer which has a market value which MyEmployer has simply passed on to Cyclescheme at no cost and which Cyclescheme will benefit from, with only a small amount of admin cost to be covered.
• The user has not been given the option of being given ownership of the bike, and paying tax on the benefit – which would actually be cheaper for the user than leasing the bike from Cyclescheme. Under this option, the benefit would go to the government in the form of the tax revenue.
• The user has not been given the option of leasing the bike directly from MyEmployer. A new lease agreement at reduced cost would bring further income in to MyEmployer from the asset over a period during which the market value would be further reduced.
• The user has not been given the option of buying the bike directly from MyEmployer and therefore benefitting MyEmployer very directly.
• In my own case, having commuted by bike over 3000 miles in the last year, I have spent in excess of £200 in replacing worn parts – chains, cogs, tyres, brake blocks, cables etc – and also considerable time in maintaining the bike in good condition, I have made a significant contribution to the current market value of the bike I obtained through the scheme, yet it appears that this contribution will end up benefiting Cyclescheme.

I feel that there should have been some discussion with me before the end of my lease to determine what the best options would be for me and for MyEmployer at the end of my lease period. I don’t know what is in the contract between MyEmployer and Cyclescheme, but I would hope that there is no contractual obligation on MyEmployer to hand ownership of the bike over to Cyclescheme and that there are options available other than those offered by Cyclescheme, which could still be considered.

​

 

[fossyant]

Ha thats great

How did you do that - love it !

 

[leroy]

How did you do that - love it !

Link

 

[carolonabike]

I'm with 2Loose on this. I've just had a response from my employer to the e-mail below saying that they were contractually obliged to hand the bike over to Cyclescheme at the end of the lease period - which I actually find hard to believe.

We signed up with Cyclescheme and I'm afraid your employers are right, it is in the contract, section 5. Disposal of Equipment. I didn't like the look of this clause so we opted out (we got a £1 credit per bike ) with the result that at the end of the period the ownership remains with the company rather than passing to Cyclescheme. I doubt they would allow your employer to opt out at this stage. It might be worth asking the question though.

 

[boydj]

Thanks for the info - useful to know.