Workplace cycling club

[Freds Dad]

After talking to a couple off colleagues we came up the idea of having a workplace cycling club where members of staff can meet either after work or at weekends to go for a ride.

We've got the support of our Wellbeing Advisor but need to know what to do next and what if any insurance issues we need to be aware of.
So if anyone has any experience of setting up something similar can you please share any experiences both good and bad.

Thanks

 

[pclay]

What is there to do? You arrange a time and meeting point and go for a bike ride. Why do you need insurance?

 

[HLaB]

I could be wrong but I think if you call yourself a cycling group insurance isn't a problem but if you call yourself a cycling club it is

 

[pclay]

Will you club actually have anything to do with your work? Will your kit have your company brand on it? Will you be entering time trials, crits and other races? Or will you just meet work colleagues outside of work hours to go for a bike ride?

I am an admin of a Facebook cycling club. We have no insurance and there is often 15-20 of us out on a Saturday.

From what I understand, insurance is only required when you enter races. That's it.

 

[johnnyb47]

One word of advice. Pick your routes carefully and avoid any line of sight of road side pubs. A group of us from work went cycling last Sunday. Every pub we went past was visited. It only takes one to say " shall we stop here " and the rest follow like sheep :-)

 

[Freds Dad]

Thanks for the input everyone.

It will hopefully be a few colleagues meeting up for a ride from work. No plans for work kit, time trials etc.

 

[Drago]

What, exactly, does a wellbeing advisor do?

 

[John the Monkey]

What, exactly, does a wellbeing advisor do?

Minister the dark rites of the old gods, keep the secrets of the ancient knowledge, make sure the big meeting room is free on Tuesdays for yoga.

 

[Vantage]

Insurance would be an idea if during a club ride, one of you takes a fall causing injury resulting in loss of earnings who might then blame the club. Spoilt brats etc.
You could ask participants to sign a disclaimer acknowledging that they attend the ride at their own risk. Or if you were make a facebolloc*s group with a statement that attendees understand that at own risk thing.
Cover your arse I say.

 

[Lonestar]

Got one at work who do the odd trip abroad.I never go,though.

 

[mjr]

Insurance would be an idea if during a club ride, one of you takes a fall causing injury resulting in loss of earnings who might then blame the club. Spoilt brats etc.
You could ask participants to sign a disclaimer acknowledging that they attend the ride at their own risk. Or if you were make a facebolloc*s group with a statement that attendees understand that at own risk thing.
Cover your arse I say.

It's more to do with how you behave than what you write. If it's just a group turning up to ride the same route by mutual consent in the same way you would alone, and you're sure everyone understands that, I'd not worry. But if you have typical club things, like someone acting as a ride leader in the HSBCUKBC sense or tight formation riding (no stopping distance gaps), then I'd get insurance against someone claiming they were led into a collision.

 

[MrPie]

A bunch of us from work regularly pop out on a Wednesday lunch time. We take it in turns to organise. No stress, no 'club', just enjoyment. Splendid.
When I worked in Texas, USA (for the same company) they demanded $30 a year 'dues' and attendance at a mandatory 'safety' training course. The safety course was an absolute joke. When I pointed out some of the dangerous shyit that was being taught, I was pretty much told in a round abou way 'that's how we do it in this country'. Er, no thanks.

 

[Freds Dad]

What, exactly, does a wellbeing advisor do?

The role of the Wellbeing Advisor is to provide specialist wellbeing knowledge and support for the organisation. The Wellbeing Advisor supports the co- ordination, delivery and communication of wellbeing activity and information.
Wellbeing activity includes yoga, massages, walks in the Peak District along with providing fast track access to physio support to reduce sick time lost through MSK problems.

 

[jefmcg]

Insurance would be an idea if during a club ride, one of you takes a fall causing injury resulting in loss of earnings who might then blame the club. Spoilt brats etc.

It also might be a good idea if someone dies and their desperate widow/widower sues you on behalf of their orphaned children.

"Spoiled brats"
--
I've been on a group ride where they always shouted "clear" at a junction. Not proceeding with the group then would have caused a pile up if you were in the middle of the group, or you to force everyone to wait if you were at the back. If a ride leader shouted "clear" when it wasn't and someone was struck by a car, then I wouldn't call them spoiled if they sued.

OP, this may not apply when there are 5 in your group, but if there are 40 some of whom trust you too much.

BTW, surely the wellbeing advisor can help with this. Injury is quite possible during yoga or walks. You may already be covered by insurance on your rides.

 

[graham bowers]

I have recent experience of setting up a club type organisation. Nothing to do with cycling, but I believe there are some parallels. I've been in other clubs, cycling and other pursuits, sometimes in committee roles. I'm not a lawyer by the way.

As has been alluded to by others, there is a potential risk of litigation if somebody is harmed on a club ride. The injured party may seek somebody to sue, and if there is somebody in a leadership position, they are an obvious target. I believe it boils down to having to prove negligence. If you are out with a group of experienced cycling mates then I believe the same common law applies, but the risk is very low as your mates are experienced (less chance of an accident) and they are mates (less likely to want to sue). On the other hand, if you set up an organisation - whatever you decide to call it - there is the potential for employees of your company that are newcomers to cycling to want to join your rides. These people are neither experienced, or your mates, so in my opinion, the risk of harm and of litigation goes up.

That's not to say that setting up a cycling group at work is in the too-hard-to-do category, but it needs to be done right in order to protect yourself from litigation and riders - particularly inexperiences ones - from harm. In my opinion its more than a question of obtaining insurance. I would expect that to obtain insurance, the insurer would need some documentation that describes what is being insured - a constitution. And I'd expect your company to want you to do risk assessments. Just google for Cycling club risk assessments.

If you are a member of Cycling UK or British Cycling I would expect they could give advice.