University of Edinburgh employees can make savings on the cost of a bike and equipment for commuting to work. The Cycle to Work scheme is designed to help you save money on a new bike to commute to work. The costs are spread over monthly instalments taken from your payslip pre-tax. The scheme can save you between 29% - 48% on a bike and accessories (depending on your tax bracket). The University of Edinburgh scheme is administered by Halfords Cycle2Work. Employees can select bikes and/or accessories from over 1,000 independent bike stores, as well as Halfords or Tredz, providing access to over 98% of bike brands. How it works Choose a bike and/or accessories from Halfords, Tredz, or one of the many independent bike shops who are members of the Halfords Cycle2Work network. You can see a full list of eligible retailers here. Once you know how much you would like to spend, apply online through the link in the HR Sharepoint site (see below). You will need to use the employer codes provided on the same page. The University of Edinburgh Payroll team checks your eligibility and approves your application. Halfords Cycle2Work issue you with a Letter of Collection that you can redeem against your bike and/or accessories. You hire the equipment from Halfords Cycle2Work via salary sacrifice for either 12 or 18 months. At the end of the hire term Halfords Cycle2Work will contact you to discuss your options for ownership of the bike: Paying the fair market value of the bike (as determined by HMRC) to take ownership of the bike immediately. Continuing to hire the bike at zero cost until HMRC deem the value to be negligible (usually 4-5 years), at which point you will automatically take ownership of the bike. Returning the bike. You make savings because salary-sacrifice reduces your gross pre-tax pay. This, in turn, reduces the amount of income tax and National Insurance that you pay each month. Savings are dependent on your personal tax code. How to apply More information, including eligibility criteria, employer codes, and access to the Cycle2Work online application process, is available from the HR Pay & Reward Sharepoint: HR Sharepoint What can I get? Employees may spend up to £3,000 on the cost of a new bike and/or accessories (such as a helmet, lights and locks). The scheme is strictly for bikes which will be used for commuting or work-related journeys at least 50% of the time. The scheme can also be used to get e-bikes, cargo bikes, tricycles and other adaptive bikes. E-scooters are not eligible. Applications for values greater than £3,000 are considered and authorised on a case by case basis. Further information on this can be found on the HR Benefits sharepoint site. Bike security considerations Remember that you can also get bike locks and other accessories through the scheme. The police recommend spending at least 10% of the value of your bike on a good quality D-lock - so bear that in mind when choosing what to buy. Whilst the overall risk of bike theft is relatively low, the potential impact on victims is high. A good quality D-lock will make your bike much more difficult to steal. If you plan to insure your bike against theft - and we recommend that you do - check what level of security your insurance policy requires. Most policies will require the lock to be rated at least "Silver" or "Gold" level by Sold Secure. Important information to note When applying, be sure to read the terms & conditions in the hire agreement very carefully. Once you have signed your hire agreement (done at the point of application), you have 14 days to cancel. It is not possible to cancel your hire agreement and salary sacrifice payments after this 14 day cancellation period. Your salary sacrifice payments will start on the first pay date available after your Letter of Collection has been issued. This is regardless of whether or not you have used your Letter of Collection to get your bike and accessories. Your Letter of Collection is valid for 4 months from the point of issue. Refunds cannot be issued. This article was published on 2024-02-13
