Cycle to Work 29 May 08
Back in January, when I was still very new to my current company, I sent an email to our local Human Resources representative, Sonya, asking if the company ran a Cycle to Work scheme or if they’d consider setting one up. (I briefly mentioned this in February). Well, at the start of May came the announcement that a Cycle to Work scheme was now available for all permanent UK employees of the company!
If you haven’t encountered a Cycle to Work scheme before, its a tax incentive that works by employees ‘hiring’ the bike of their choice from their employer, paying off the cost of the bike, via salary-sacrifice (i.e. from their pre-tax or ‘gross’ pay), over the course of 12 or 18 months. At the end of the term of the scheme the employee can then pay a nominal ‘fair market value’ fee to take full ownership of the bike.
Given, that the hire cost is deducted from your pre-tax pay, so the net cost to you is reduced, and the employer can deduct the VAT of the purchase price of the bike, the end result is that you can save about 40% on the the retail price of a bike. Its a fantastic incentive to start commuting by bike, as if rising fuel costs weren’t enough on their own.
I’ve heard that (including myself) 10 out of the company’s 70 UK employees have signed up for the first run of the scheme. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but at over 14% it beats the 10% that the scheme organisers (Halfords) consider a ‘good response’. What’s more, several other employees have apparently expressed an interest in joining the scheme during the next opening in November.
Although, it was my email that started the ball rolling, I really can’t take any credit for this. Right from the start Sonya was very receptive to the idea and it was her hard work that pushed the scheme through all the layers of red tape in both the HR and Finance departments.
Still, it hasn’t stopped me from smiling about it.
Posted by Nev in Going Green , Transport with tags bike, commute, cycle, cycle to work, transport
