Would really like to broach this with HR, & put the case across as best as I can. Anyone done something simmillar ? In an office of 50 theres 8 cyclists but only two of us actually commute. Suppose its a start. Bike would (for me) actually be used for commuting.
Do you think its worth doing a survey of people beforehand ? Any advice greatly appreciated. Looking for case studies, costs to the company etc. Thinking that if it were a well presented & thought out proposal they might take it seriously. They've refused in the past, & wont even look at the nursery voucher scheme, so we're going to have to come up with something convincing.
I managed to persuade my company to set it up just for me, but it's a small charity and quite bike friendly. Didn't have to really put that much of a case together. The admin time for them is extremely minimal though so it doesn't really cost them anything much.
TBH to be really taken seriously you'll have to show a positive benefit (ie cash to the employer), not just a new bike for you and others 😥
Also you'll need to show that the costs to them are low, and so are the risks.
For a small business these various government schemes are more trouble than they are worth, unless that is the owner benefits...
what does the company have to do for it'e employees to be eligible. what is the registration process and is it the kind of thing that the employee could help with rather than puttting the burden on to a HR team?
Hi, I work for a company of 40,000 - it took 4 years of badgering, but finally happened... This year. Will post up some tips and issues (did quite a few docs, cases etc), the larger the org, the more the issues
I work for a company that "...aspires to be the greenest technology company on the planet".
I had to push for about a year to get bike racks. I initially met with this opposition: "There are no plans at the moment to install bike racks, as this would take away car parking space which we are desperately in need of".
Cycle to work was rejected for: "reasons of the extra workload, tax complication, and risk of financial loss".
We have separate bins for paper, cans, bottles etc that all go into the one bin for collection. When question why we had the separate bins the answer was "because it looks good for visitors".
If you find a way to make it worth an employers time to set it up please let me know!
David.
Their are savings for employers as they also pay less NI, good for csr reporting as well. When I'm I'm not on here on my phone I'll post up something more comprehensive.
cyclescheme or evans used to have a 'one page hand this to your employer' pdf but i'm damned if i can find it now!!
there are web pages on both though
http://www.evanscycles.com/ride2work/the-benefits
http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/employer,howdoesitwork.htm
if they are difficult to convince try and get them to pass it off to cycle scheme, rather than evans or halfords, much easier than a self run scheme apparently. (i wouldn't know i don't run it)
We went with cyclescheme, good national coverage from independent stores and some multiples like cyclesurgery, cyclescheme intranet works well and they will set up a test intranet so your employer can see how the admin side works
Ok a list of issues:
[*]You need to have a PAYE Payroll[/*]
[*]Under 18 year olds are excluded as the scheme is regulated by Consumer Credit Act[/*]
[*]There is an alternative possible for under 18yr olds if required[/*]
[*]Need to check after salary sacrifice an employee is still above national minimium wage[/*]
[*]Consider running a 'window of opportunity' once or twice a year - so you let employees know in advance that they will have one month in which to get their quotes and submit one for approval- that way the employer gets all the applications in together and then can get one invoice from Cyclescheme (other C2W provider) to pay, can adjust everyone salary at the same time, etc etc so as to reduce the admin burden[/*]
[*]As employers are in effect paying those on the scheme less, they will also have to pay less NI, this can be used to cover the admin costs, or go towards cycle facilites[/*]
[*]It can be seen as an incentive to retain staff, as saving are only made each month - if you leave you have to give the bike and equipment back to the employer or pay a higher rate to keep the items[/*]
[*]There is a credit exemption from the OFT upto a limit of £1000 for companies to sort out tax/ credit issues[/*]
[*]As a staff benefit it is one of the cheaper benefot items for an employer to impliment[/*]
[*]If you are a small company, nothing stopping you just buying bikes direct from a local shop, C2W providers make it easier for larger companies reduce admin etc[/*]
As for getting an employer to take note, make a register of staff that woudl be interested, particulary those that do niot current cycle, but would if they could use the scheme etc.
Will post some more stuff up
