Cycle to Work scheme employer repluctance?
Ashley_R
Posts: 408
Trying to get my employers to agree to sign up to the cycle to work scheme for my latest bike, they don't seem very forthcoming, only had the "yes we'll look at it in the future" response, not holding my breath :evil:
I work for an company that employs about 250 people thats part of a much bigger group, anyone had any similar issues/success in converting apathetic employers? Any suggestions on how to speed them up? Given them all the website details/local bike shops who run it as well
Several other staff have apparently tried previously, without success
Problem is that I've decided on me bike and can't hold out not buying it for much longer!!
I work for an company that employs about 250 people thats part of a much bigger group, anyone had any similar issues/success in converting apathetic employers? Any suggestions on how to speed them up? Given them all the website details/local bike shops who run it as well
Several other staff have apparently tried previously, without success
Problem is that I've decided on me bike and can't hold out not buying it for much longer!!
You can lead an elephant to water but a pencil must be lead
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You can also point out that if they want to be pirates, they can quite legally keep the VAT they reclaim on the purchase rather than pass it on to the employee (As our HR dept said, you are already saving about 30%, why shouldnt we make some money on the deal too :?: ).
Needless to say, I got a better discount buying direct rather than using the scheme here, once you factored in all the costs. You could try working it out yourself - generally I think you need the VAT saving passed back to you to beat most discounts you could arrange personally, unless you are after a bike thats only been released in the last couple of months.
Prime reason it didn't want to set the scheme up seemed to be that it didn't want to be left with a load of old bikes to manage.
My employer investigated it and informed us that the cost of the overheads to run the scheme were considerably larger than the savings made on buying the bikes. In short, they said, "no".
But our advantage was that one of the MDs is a commuter, so didn't mind.
I don't see why all companies don't sign up for it. Apart from the initial payment for the voucher, it saves them some money on tax etc.(doesn't it?)
They also get fitter members of staffs who turn up for work energised and ready to go.
P.S. picked up my Bianchi on the cycle2work scheme through Evans on saturday
Is it any wonder british businesses can't compete with foreign businesses that don't have such burdens?
If the goverment were serious about cycling they'd knock VAT off bikes, or at least have VAT in increments. No one needs a £1000 bike to commute to work, but everyone could be encouraged to buy a £300 hack that serves as day to day transport.
Or am I just cynical because all we get is a bunch of really censored 'employee discounts' that aren't worth the electrons that the email is sent in....
Re the VAT, there shouldn't be any saving (for company or empoyee) as the bike isn't used for business purposes (its used in part for a daily commute). The employer does save 12.8% employers NI on the salary sacrifice.
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Ultegra
Brompton S Type
Carrera Vengeance Ultimate Ltd
Gary Fisher Aquila '98
Front half of a Viking Saratoga Tandem
The employer suddenly takes on a large number of bicycle assets. It has to account for them in the books, work out the capital allowances, depreciate them etc. It *IS* extra effort for little perceived gain by the employer.
They need to reduce salary, recalculate NI contributions etc. Where salary payments are outsourced (which is often the case for larger employers) there will be an admin charge for changing the salary.
These bicycles can potentially appear in the books for years afterwards.
There is also the often glossed over area of insurance and liability - the bicycles ARE the company's property and need insuring as such. The company could be held liable if the bicycles they are renting to the employee aren't road worthy! etc.
Even after all this there is no certainty that the employee will receive the bicycle at the end of the hire period, and there could be a tax liability if it is sold to the employee for a peppercorn amount lower than it's real market value.
For smaller employees which are already stretched this type of scheme is extra uncessary work. Even if it's only one day researching it and the implications, and 1 day a year accounting for it, these may be days the employers can't justify.
And this is one of many employer focused schemes - Home Computer Initiative (no longer available), Child Care vouchers, Luncheon vouchers, Train season ticket loans etc.
Good point, but I can't recall the Government lobbying for this to change. Airplanes, Ships etc. are zero rated, but Bicycles are not!
Strangely small bicycle repairs are zero rated - wonder how many LBS remember not to add VAT to certain repairs!
Agreed, but for many small businesses a Green Transport Plan is a lot of effort. It's usually the least of their worries when trying to keep their heads above the water.
In my experience Green Transport plans make very little difference to employee behaviour. It something nice to add to Corporate Social Reports, but little more than lip service is paid to them. Similarly Green Transport plans for schools don't stop mothers dropping their kids off in 4x4s ( :oops:)
Whilst the Government does not have control over VAT, it could easily have changed the taxation rules so that employees could be given a bicycle by their employer up to the value of XXX without being chargable for income tax.
It could have allowed employers to take 100% capital allowances in the first year for the purchase of bicycles.
It could have encouranged planning authorities to ensure that all new build offices have sufficient secure bicycle parking for their employees, with changing rooms and showers. Similar to the rules for disabled parking spaces.
If the Government can't come up with a cohesive Green Transport Plan that allows bikes on trains, what hope do employees have.
Rufus.
Utter disgrace if you ask me. When I called HR they said that there wouldn't be enough interest, which just sounds like nonsense.
To top it off we've all been given forms to reapply for car parking permits, multipage documents that take ages to fill in asking you to justify out of hours car park requirements etc. The reason? They're running out of carpark space because too many people are driviving in.
Grrrrrrrrrr :evil:
Credit to the company, a few of us had been quite vocal about getting this introduced and when we moved offices in the summer they took this on board and made sure the new site had secure bike facilities, showers, the lot, so cycling in here really is as comfortable as it gets.
So how many people applied for vouchers on the C2W scheme? Four (self included).
And how many of them already cycle in anyway? Four.
So for all talk of green transport intiatives, or rather cycling in particular (prob 99% of people here come in by public transport), it would appear that the drive just isn't there in the population at large (based on the 350+ sample here with about 20 'hardcore' cycle commuters). I can't help but feel that introducing it in October was a bit of a hospital pass though...
PEDANTS CORNER EDIT: Considering I work in research I really should have figured out that 20 of 350 means we have around 6% commuting by bike, meaning it's actually 94% using PT. I think the avg for London is around 3-4% commute by bike so we're ahead of the curve!
Pompino
CF SLX
They refuse to operate the scheme because its too much paperwork
They will give me a season ticket loan for train ticket for any amount as long as monthly repayments do not exceed my take home pay.
I can have a bike loan instead - limited to £200. Perhaps it should be called a part of a bike loan
Then read MY BLOG @ http://www.pebennett.com
Twittering @spen_666
Not good, try taking it up with the CX, that should do the trick, public sector bodies should be leading on this, are you in a union? Imagine the likes of UNISON would love this one...
It's just a hill. Get over it.
Its a shame there is a closing date rather than an open-ended commitment.
My employer (a university) introduced it this year. We had an "event" in Bike Week (free breakfasts, Dr Bike free bike tune-ups, advice on routes and equipment etc), but I had hoped to get the cycle to work scheme introduced at the same time, hopefully generating more interest. Unfortunately they were a month late (still good that they have it). I think you really need to work hard at the marketing to promote interest. Whilst I was involved in helping organise the bike week events, the marketing was left (understandably) to someone from our marketing department - it was appalling, just one boring looking email to everyone the week before, and a few A4 "posters" placed on A1 whiteboards around the campus - you couldn't even read them unless right up close. An opportunity wasted :?
We have just employed a transport planner, and I think there is a real latent willingness to support greener transport, but we must be more pro-active in promoting this.
Next year I will try and get more involved in the marketing side. I am optimistic that at some point we will reach a critical mass and cycling will be seen as a legitimate and worthy method of commuting.