‘Cycle to Work’ TERMS & CONDITIONS
Eligibility
· Are you earning a gross salary above £10,000 per annum (£833.33 per month or £192.31 per week)? *
· Are you over 18 years old?
· Do you hold a ’12 month’ contract of employment that outlasts the duration of the 'Salary Sacrifice' payback period?
Then you are eligible to join the ‘Cycle to Work Scheme’ and make savings on a new bike, as well as helping the environment by increasing the level of cycle usage in the city!
* Please note:. You have to pay Tax and National Insurance before you can take advantage of this scheme, and save on Tax and National Insurance.
** Please note: If you are on both Salary Sacrifice Scheme’s (Childcare Certificates & Cycle to Work) then combination of both deductions may take you under the tax threshold (currently set at £787.00 per month) so you may not be eligible. Please check with payroll in this instance.
Application Process
· Locate your local ‘cycle shop’ at www.cyclescheme.co.uk/partners or phone our provider ‘Cyclescheme’ on 0844 879 5101.
· Visit a shop and choose your bike and/or safety equipment – you will be given a ‘Cyclescheme paper quote’.
· Request your certificate online at www.cyclescheme.co.uk/Certificate/yorkcouncil or www.cyclescheme.co.uk /4e40a
(Or phone 0844 879 5101 and they will process the quote on your behalf, if you do not have access to a computer).
Cyclescheme will then invoice the council for your equipment and, as soon as the payment is made, your certificate will be emailed or posted to you, whichever you chose when you requested your certificate
· To collect your bike/accessories, take the Certificate in to the cycle shop which you received your quotation from – don’t forget that you’ll need to take along photographic ID.
Conditions
· City of York Council will lease a bike to ‘Employees Only’.
· The bike will be provided on the basis that 50% of it’s usage will be to Cycle to/from work’.
· The hire agreement is for a 12 months period
Savings
· The savings available are between 32%-42%, depending on the level of tax you pay – To calculate your savings, please visit - www.cyclescheme.co.uk /4e40a
‘Cycle to Work’ SAVINGS TABLES
‘Maximum’ Certificate Costing Table Guide
Basic Rate Taxpayer / High Rate TaxpayerCertificate Value / £1,000.00 / £1,000.00
Gross Monthly Salary Sacrifice payments / £83.33 / £83.33
Income Tax Savings / £16.67 / £33.33
NI Savings / £8.67 / £1.67
Net Salary Sacrifice / £58 / £48.33
Overall Saving / £304 / £420.04
Overall Saving / 30% / 42%
Table is based on a £1,000 Bike Package.
Hired over a 12-month period. / Basic Rate
(20% Tax, 10.4% NI) / Higher Rate
(40% Tax, 1% NI)
Bike package retail price / £1,000 / £1,000
Income tax & NI saved / £377.90 / £480.14
Monthly repayments from Gross salary / £83.33 / £83.33
Net monthly payments (*Page 2) / £58 / £48.33
Total cost of bike package / £696 / £580
*Savings are affected by your personal level of taxation and finance arrangements.
What happens at the end of my Hire Agreement
At the end of the hire period Cyclescheme will contact you detailing 3 options:
1. Under a separate agreement with Cyclescheme, pay a small refundable deposit (3% or 7% of the certificate value*) and continue to use the bicycle for 3 years. The monthly payments during the Extended Use Agreement are zero. If you want to keep the equipment at the end of this period, Cyclescheme will just retain the 3% or 7% deposit. If for any reason you no longer want the equipment, then you can return the bike and we'll refund the deposit.
2. Take ownership of the bicycle by paying Cyclescheme the market value (e.g., for a one year old bicycle this would be 18% or 25%* of the certificate value in accordance with HMRC requirements).
3. Return the bicycle to Cyclescheme
Cyclescheme’s recommended option is for you to select option 1.
* The lower figure is for a certificate value of less than £500 and the higher one for a certificate value of £500 or more. These figures include VAT.
Bike Insurance
You have to insure the bike yourself. Household policies are usually much cheaper than specialist policies but you must ensure that the insurer covers the bike when in storage away from your home. You also need to check that there's no upper limit on a claim (if you have a reasonably expensive bike). Please refer to your ‘Home Insurance Policy’. If your bike is not covered by your home insurance, you can obtain a specialist policy; www.cycleguard.co.uk/cs is a cycle insurer recommended by Cyclescheme and not City of York Council and they offer a 10% discount for Cyclescheme participants. It is up to the employee, to view the market for the best quote.
Bike Maintenance
Employees are responsible for maintaining the bike during its use and they agree to this when signing the ‘Hire Agreement’.
Cycle Certificate - Maximum Amount
The maximum Certificate value each employee can claim is £1,000, however you are able to use your own funds to pay the remainder if the equipment is over £1000.
Leavers
Notification / If you are due to leave City of York Council’s employment or your bike has been stolen, you need to contact Payroll Control () or telephone 01904 551150/ 01904 551168 to notify us.Outstanding Monies Due / We shall then be able to inform you of the remaining monies due for payment.
Leaver; You will no longer be an employee so you will not be eligible for NI savings & Tax relief. The ‘recovery of monies owed’ will then be deducted from your last wage, for early completion of the ‘Hire Agreement’.
Stolen; You will no longer be able to fulfil the ‘condition’ of the scheme so you will not be eligible for NI savings & Tax relief. The ‘recovery of monies owed’ will then be deducted from your next wage. However, if your bike is insured, you can replace it and payments will continue as normal.
Insufficient Funds / Should there be insufficient funds to cover the outstanding balance then the remainder will have to be paid by other means.
This can be arranged according to personal circumstances.
End of Hire
Agreement / After the outstanding balance has been paid, you then finalise the ‘Hire Agreement’ by paying either a ‘Termination Fee’ or the ‘Transfer of Ownership’. If the bike has been stolen, you have to follow the ‘Transfer of Ownership’ Option.
Pensions and other benefits?
The local government pension scheme is not affected. There may be a small effect on the state pension. If you are in another pension scheme, you will need to get in touch with that scheme to find out what the effects are. Teachers Pension Scheme, your contributable salary will not be reduced by the value of the salary sacrifice.
Personal Details
Please keep you records up to date with City of York Council by emailing , until the end of the ‘Hire Agreement’.
Statutory Maternity Pay
Employees with sufficient service who meet certain conditions may be entitled to occupational (OMP) and statutory (SMP) maternity payments during a portion of maternity leave which will be affected by participation in the Bikes Scheme. Your ‘Cycle to Work’ payments will continue if you are receiving ‘OMP’ as this is classed as ‘salary’ by HM Revenue & Customs. Unfortunately, ‘SMP’ is not classed as a ‘salary’ so this Pay cannot be taken into account when taking payments for the bike. Payments may be suspended until either you return or you resign from the post. If you return, payments will be restarted. If you resign, you are then treated as a leaver, please see the table entitled ‘Leavers’.
Stolen Bikes
If the bike is stolen then the employee has effectively left the scheme and needs to pay all outstanding monies from their net salary. You are then treated as a leaver; please see the table entitled ‘Leavers’. However, if the equipment is insured, it can be replaced and your payments will continue as normal.
Unresolved Issues
If an issue has not been resolved, after contacting your chosen supplier or Cyclescheme, then please don’t hesitate to contact and we will do our best to help.
‘Cycle to Work’ Case Studies
I've got a 5½-mile journey into work - drive, park & ride, walk. Through the scheme I bought a top-line bike that's fully equipped for commuting - bike! Having a secure bike shed a few steps from the office, cycling is quicker for me than the alternatives and cheaper. With the savings I got from the scheme, just by cutting out the 2-mile car journey to the park & ride the bike will have paid for itself in a year. Plus, I'm getting regular exercise and enjoying the journey to work; in spring there really is no better start to a working day.
Stephen Sangster, Resources
The Cycle to Work scheme has provided me with an affordable way of getting a new bike and I'd highly recommend it. I signed up in May 2007 and went to Shannons who were really helpful. You can choose any bike along with all the extras like lights, panniers, helmet, lock etc. I had lot of questions about the finance side, which were all patiently answered. Paying for the bike monthly means that I haven't been hit with a huge bill and can spread the payments. After a final payment in June the bike will officially be mine!
Elizabeth Wray, Neighbourhood Services
Other City of York Council Bike Schemes:
Bike Boost
A bike scheme supported by Cycle City York and run by the Get Cycling Community Interest Company. The 'Bike Boost' scheme allows you to borrow a high quality commuter style bike for one month to try out cycling to work. The scheme includes: Free loan of commuter bike and accessories for 1 month; Access to free cycle skills coaching; Help, advice and support throughout the scheme; Chanceto buy the bikes at discounted price, or take upthis Cycle to Work (Salary Sacrifice Scheme). For more information view www.bikeboost.org/coyc or contact Andrew Bradley on 01904 551404.
Cycle Loan
A payment scheme, which an employee can apply for to purchase a bike and accessories up to the value of £600. The ‘CYCLE LOANS CONDIDTIONS AND PROCEDURE’ and ‘CYCLE LOAN APPLICATION FORM’ can be found on the ‘CounciNet’. This scheme is managed by ‘City of York Council – Payment Section’ on 01904 551131.
Second-hand Cycles
City of York Council also supports the local ‘Bike Rescue Project’, which is part of the Council’s Corporate Strategy for 2007-2011. Bike Rescue is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, which specialises in recycling bikes. Bikes are restored at the project workshop and then sold at an average of between £40-£60 each (or about £30 for a child's bike). All bikes are fully safety-checked and come with a month's guarantee.
Contact Details
Website: www.yorkrecycling.net/bikerescue
Telephone: 01904 733789
Address: Unit B4, Parkside Commercial Centre, Terry Avenue, York, YO23 1JP. (Near to Rowntree’s Park)
Please note: Bike Rescue is not listed as a Cyclescheme supplier due to manufacturing warranties so City of York Council is currently unable to offer this through the ‘Cycle to Work’ Salary Sacrifice Scheme.