Cycle to Work info and commonly asked questions
If you’re already registered with us, you can access specific information relating to your organisation’s scheme on a custom FAQ document, available on your company scheme webpage.
How does the Cycle to Work Scheme work for employers?
Running a scheme for your business couldn’t be simpler – in fact, we take care of the work on your behalf. To kick-off the process, we’ll discuss all of your options with you for funding, scheme limits, ordering periods and agreement durations.
When you’re happy with your package, we’ll send you a supply agreement and implementation plan to get everything started.
Typically, we would recommend allowing a few weeks to help get the word out to your staff about the scheme before the full launch. However, we have the in-house expertise and flexibility to begin your scheme immediately if necessary.
Plus, you’ll have access to a completely unique scheme webpage and online store, showing your unique savings to all staff. Would you like to have a chat and find out more? Click here to request a call back.
How easy is it to administer the running of the scheme?
The scheme is super easy to run! We’ll set you up with an admin dashboard, where you’ll be able to view all orders, approve or reject orders, and monitor the scheme as a whole. When you receive a new order, you will also get an email notification.
Where can our employees purchase their goods?
Your employees will have access to an online store, unique to your business. This will show bikes and products they can purchase within your scheme. Each employee will also be able to access a savings calculator which will give them a savings breakdown, detailing their particular savings, based on their earnings and the products they choose.
We also have access to a partner store network that will give your employees wider product availability. They can simply choose a shop within our network, and this allows us to produce a voucher for them to spend in store.
This gives employees the best of both worlds; they can shop online with us, or find a store local to them.
What is the benefit of ordering online with Cycle Solutions?
There are a number of great benefits to ordering online with us, including:
- Great service provided by a dedicated team of professionals.
- An 18-month warranty.
- Free insurance (this must be activated by the employee once they have received their goods).
- Free bike tools & bag.
- A wide range of products to choose from.
- Reward points to use on any future purchases.
- Convenient delivery with our chosen courier.
- A dedicated aftersales department who are available via phone, email or live chat if anything should go wrong.
Do employees have to purchase a bike?
No, employees can choose a bike and accessories, just a bike, or just accessories. There is nothing that stipulates that they must get a bike on the scheme. The choice is up to them!
How do employees select their bike?
Once you have your scheme set up, your employee will have access to an online shop that is unique to your business, operating within the scheme parameters you have chosen.
Then, the process is simple. Employees can have a look at a wide range of bikes and accessories and select the package they want, before completing their purchase - just as they would with a standard shopping site.
Once the order has been submitted, we send out a hire agreement to you and your employee.
After these documents are signed and approved, the goods will be shipped and received asap!
Cycle to work Scheme: Who owns the bike?
This will depend on the type of scheme you choose to run with us. We can talk you through all the options and set you up on a scheme that works best for you and your colleagues.
Traditionally, if you choose a limit of £1000, you (as the employer) will own the bike.
If it’s a scheme limit over £1000, Cycle Solutions will own the bike.
Either option means that the employee is hiring the bike for the duration of their salary sacrifice. It won’t belong to them until the end of scheme selection.
At the end of the salary sacrifice period, the employee will choose their end of scheme method which includes a completely free of charge option to maximise their savings through the scheme.
We will manage the transfer of ownership on your behalf, with a fully HMRC compliant and seamless end of scheme process.
How do we fund the scheme?
At Cycle Solutions, we offer a varied choice of funding options, doing what we can to be as flexible as possible. Typically, funding will come from either proforma, finance or credit options and each have their own benefits.
The option that you choose will depend on what works best for your organisation; however, we can talk you through all of these as part of an initial implementation meeting.
This will involve one of our scheme experts presenting the financial options available, helping you to choose the most effective funding method for you and your business.
What is the maximum value of the Cycle to Work Scheme limit?
The Cycle Solutions scheme allows you to choose what package value limit you would like for your organisation. This means the scheme you provide for your business is more inclusive than ever before, enabling you to cater for every type of cyclist in the workplace.
- Higher limits give your employees a huge selection of products to choose from, even including e-bikes. It also enables them to buy everything in one go.
- An enhanced limit means Cycle Solutions retain ownership of the bike but issue a salary sacrifice agreement to both the employee and the employer (alongside a hire period agreement). These will both need to be approved before the goods are shipped.
- Standard scheme limits are also available. This is where the equipment is bought from us and hired to employees with a maximum limit of £1,000.
To find out more about the limits available to your organisation, get in touch.
How long is the employee’s agreement for?
We have flexible scheme lengths with 6-, 12- and 18-month options available. The longer the length of the agreement, the cheaper monthly payments will be for employees. Exactly like a finance agreement but with great savings and no interest involved!
How does my business save money?
The Cycle Solutions scheme saves you and your organisation money in several ways, including:
- Free to set up.
- Bikes are paid for by your employees via a salary sacrifice taken from their gross pay.
- Your National Insurance contributions will reduce by 13.8% e.g., an employee package of £1000 would save your organisation £138.
- Bespoke scheme and marketing to maximise employee uptake, therefore maximising your organisation’s savings.
What happens if I have questions about our scheme as it’s running?
We’re here for you every step of the way! Throughout your scheme, you’ll have a dedicated account manager to help you with the process and answer any queries.
You will also have access to your very own client success executive who will set up all of the marketing for your scheme, and whose duties will include:
- Liaising with your scheme administrator.
- Working to understand your employee demographic, and tailor the marketing to be the most effective.
- Working alongside the account manager.
- Handling all marketing queries, ultimately ensuring the scheme uptake is as high as possible.
We are also available via phone, email or live chat on our website. Whatever it is, we’ll be happy to help.
How do you help us promote our Cycle to Work Scheme?
We can do a number of things to help you promote and manage the scheme:
- Your client success executive will work alongside you to ensure scheme uptake is as high as possible, as well as walking you through every step of the scheme promotion e.g., road shows and closing weeks.
- You will receive co-branded marketing materials that are unique to your business, including digital and print materials.
- We will work with you to provide unique solutions and create the most effective communications for your employees, delivering printed materials in advance.
Whatever your needs, we’ll be on hand to help.
What are the costs for promotional material?
We don’t charge anything for promotional material, it’s free of charge! We provide you with co-branded communications and will print everything exactly to your requirements.
What can you provide employees to encourage uptake?
In addition to the branded communications and digital and print materials, we also offer a range of other services. These include:
- Road shows where we bring the shop to you, taking bikes into the workplace so your employees can check out what we offer.
- Bike Doctor events which allow your staff to get bike checks and ask us questions.
- Test ride events, bringing e-bikes for employees to try out.
- Webinars at your convenience.
Just get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to arrange whatever you need.
As an employer, how do we check and sign-off employee orders?
Our straightforward order dashboard enables you to log in and check any orders that have been placed. Plus, our one-click approval system makes it easy to approve or reject any transactions, whilst allowing you to stay up to date with how the scheme is performing in your organisation.
What happens if an employee is ineligible for their cycle to work order?
Once you’ve accessed your order dashboard, you will be able to see any potential rejections. Here, you can click the most appropriate option or add your own unique reason as to why the order is being rejected – your employee will be notified directly
Do we have to offer the scheme to every employee?
Each scheme is bespoke, meaning we create something that works for you and your business. We can build unique checks and communications into the order process, creating a scheme that suits the requirements of your organisation.
We can also implement specific messaging into all communication materials and your dedicated scheme landing page.
For more information on what we can do, get in touch.
What happens if an employee leaves their job or is made redundant?
If an employee leaves the business, they will be required to pay any outstanding salary instalments as a lump sum from their final net salary payment. This cannot be taken out of their gross pay.
If the final salary payment doesn’t cover the balance owed, your employee will need to pay you, the employer, the remaining balance within 14 days of leaving the business.
Employees that are made redundant will have the same reasoning applied, with any outstanding balance being deducted from their final net salary payment.
What happens if an employee changes their mind?
In line with distance selling guidelines, we offer a 14-day cooling off period. Therefore, all employees have within this timeframe to change their mind.
We also have a dedicated aftersales department who are on hand to help deal with any issues that may arise.
What happens if an employee’s equipment is lost or stolen during the agreement?
An employee must insure their equipment against the following:
- Theft
- Fire, and/or
- Accidental damage
This means, that if their bicycle or accessories no longer work efficiently, they can be replaced.
However, if something goes missing or has minor damage, an employee will be required to continue paying for their goods.
Cycle Solutions provide 8 weeks of free insurance with every bike ordered via our online store, of which employees can activate with no obligation. After this free period, employees can then receive 10% off the cost of their policy with our associated insurance provider, Sundays.
We also recommend that employees should get in touch with the company that provides their home contents insurance policy, who can then further advise on how to cover their new equipment.
Alternatively, there are other specialist bike insurance companies that can offer more information and policy types.
What happens if an employee’s equipment develops a mechanical issue?
Typically, standard warranty periods are for 12-months. However, at Cycle Solutions, we provide an 18-month warranty to give your employees complete peace of mind.
We also have a knowledgeable and experienced aftersales team who can help with any problems that might crop up – we’re always happy to help.
What happens at the end of the Cycle to Work Scheme?
There are a couple of different routes an employee can go down at the end of their scheme, including a completely free rental extension to maximise employee savings.
We also give the option of owning or returning the equipment at the end of the hire agreement.
To find out more about our end of scheme options, get in touch with us for more details.
How do we manage the end of scheme process for an employee’s package?
If your organisation’s scheme has an enhanced limit, then you won’t have to do a thing! We will manage the entire transaction directly with your employee.
For traditional schemes, we will issue a credit note (£1 plus VAT) to transfer ownership back to you initially, and then manage the process with the employee.
When do you invoice for the goods?
This will depend on the funding method your organisation has chosen, and what works best for your finance department. We will decide on the best way to manage this as part of our discussion when setting up the scheme.
