The runabikescheme portal will guide you through the steps to setting up your schemeand will give you the tools and documentation online that you will need to enable you to communicate, launch and administer bikescheme.  You have the flexibility to set up the scheme and run it whenever you want. To keep payroll administration to the minimum we recommend a brief election period (a window of opportunity when employees can enrol onto the scheme) of about 2 - 4 weeks and most companies typically choose to run an election once or twice a year. You can also set eligibility criteria around how long employees should have worked for the company before they can join.

The period you hire the bikes to employees (Hire Period) is set for 12 months. During this time, although the goods are owned by your company, your employees are the custodians of the bike and they are responsible for insuring and maintaining the bike in a good roadworthy condition. At the end of the 12 month hire period your company can sell the bikes to staff for a nominal amount representing the value of the goods at that time. This is an arrangement that is separate to the scheme.

Your company will save money by running a scheme. Typically take up is around 5% with average order values of around £500.  12.8% of this amount can be saved by the company through employers NI savings.  As an employer, you are able to claim back VAT on the purchase of the bikes, and you are permitted to pass these savings on to your employees. We advise that you check with your accounts department to check that your company/organisation raises Vat invoices at the standard rate, as some organisations such as schools and charities do not, and therefore this further saving cannot be passed on.  Further information on this and other aspects of cycle to work schemes can be found in  guidelines written by the Department for Transport which you can download from here>>

Bikescheme can be funded in two different ways.  The simplest way is for your company to pay for the bikes on invoice from Halfords.  This will make it cheaper for your employees, but it will involve the initial capital expenditure.  This cost is recovered during the year from the employee’s Salary Sacrifice reductions, therefore it is ultimately cost neutral but obviously impacts on cashflow.  As an alternative most companies and organisations choose to take advantage of our third party leasing option.  There is a cost associated with this which is passed to the employee, but it then means there is no upfront cost for the company. Each month the Salary Sacrifice amounts fund the monthly Standing Order with the leasing company.  As this is the preferred route for most companies, should you apply to run a bikescheme it will be assumed that you want to fund the scheme this way.  Should you prefer to self fund, simply drop us an email or call us to confirm your wishes.  To help you decide which is best for your company, please see below the employee price comparisons:

*Price includes all costs incurred in financing the scheme over a 12 month period, and assumes Vat savings at current rate of 15% have been passed back to employee. Costs included can be used as a guide only, and may vary subject to personal taxation.
** Assumes 20% Tax Rate
*** Assumes 11% Employee NIC Rate
**** Assumes 40% Tax Rate
***** Assumes 1% Employee NIC Rate

Communicating the scheme is vitally important, so bikescheme posters are available to download to help build awareness and launch the scheme to your employees. Your employees can then gain access to the employee information portal which will be customised to your company, including your company logo, enrolment dates and eligibility criteria.

To enrol onto bikescheme, employees place an order online and download and sign a Hire Agreement. An example of which can be viewed here >>  This is a legally binding agreement between your company and the employee, is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act and is non cancellable. This gives your payroll department permission to reduce the employee’s pay by the agreed monthly amount, and also the right to deduct from final net pay any outstanding amounts from an employee in the event of them leaving the company before the 12 month hire period ends. You can appoint an administrator to have access to your company admin on the runabikescheme website that will enable you to check orders against Hire Agreements and ensure all those who have applied are eligible. Once the election period is closed orders are finalised, and once payment is in place depending on the funding route, Letters of Collection (LoCs) are sent out to employees at their home address. Your employees can then go to their nearest Halfords store and exchange their LoC for the bike and cycling safety accessories of their choice. Meanwhile you can download from the portal a spreadsheet detailing employee’s orders with payroll numbers, ready for your payroll to start making salary reductions the following month. Your company will also enjoy the cost benefits of 12.8% employers NI contribution saved on the cost of the bikes.

Please study the Frequently Asked Questions section, to ensure that you are happy that your company has all the information needed prior to going ahead with bikescheme.