Cyclescheme Employer: Who can participate in the cycle to work scheme?
Any size employer from any sector can partner for free with Cyclescheme.
Employees must receive salary via the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system, and earnings should be more than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage after salary sacrifice to be eligible.
It is worth noting that there is no credit check for employees wishing to participate and Under 18s can join the scheme if their guardian signs a guarantor agreement.
✋ Helping hand
Head over to answer ' Can I participate in the cycle to work scheme?' for a more detailed answer regarding everything to do with being able to apply from an employees perspective.
If you're self-employed, read ' Can self-employed people join the cycle to work scheme?'.
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage options:
There’s no minimum value for bikes or accessories on Cyclescheme. Let’s say your employee has seen a bike and equipment that adds up to £208. They’re paid weekly and they work 37 hours a week. The weekly salary sacrifice over one year would be just £4 (£208 divided by 52 weeks). Your employee would need to be earning 11 pence more than the NMW (i.e. £4 divided by 37 hours) to afford this.
Employers can help low wage earners participate in Cyclescheme by offering a longer salary sacrifice period – for example, running the scheme over 18, 24 or 36 months instead of 12. In the example above, the salary sacrifice payments would be only £2 per week rather than £4 if you made payments over two years rather than one. That would make the £208 package affordable even if you earned only 6p above the NMW. If you earned 11p or more above the NMW, you might sacrifice £4 over two years rather than one to get a package worth £416 instead of £208. To set up longer-duration schemes like this, you (as the employer) need only contact Cyclescheme, as our systems will accommodate a variety of options.
If your employee earns exactly the minimum wage you may wish to organise a loan bike for free so that they’re not excluded from having the use of a bike to get to work. A pool of bikes for employees is an effective way for employers to promote health, punctuality, and positive attitudes among staff. Some employers use their National Insurance Contributions (NICs) savings to fund such schemes.