BIKES FOR WORK

Royal Holloway has appointed Cyclescheme to launch a ‘bikes for work’ scheme.  The scheme is designed to enable staff to purchase a bicycle and safety equipment for commuting.

This is a hire agreement which allows staff to take advantage of tax and National Insurance savings.

The scheme works via salary sacrifice (like childcare vouchers), whereby a voucher to the value of the equipment being purchased is issued in exchange for a monthly reduction in salary over twelve months until the repayment has been made. Tax and National Insurance contributions are not paid on the monthly deductions which enables financial savings.  Staff who wish to take part in the scheme will be required to sign a hire agreement and amendment to contract letter confirming the value of the voucher that is required and the subsequent reduction in salary.

The amount of salary sacrifice that can be made against the cost of the equipment must not exceed £1,000 (inclusive of VAT).

The information you need to take part in the scheme can be found at the links below.

To join the scheme you will need to visit the following site to create your Voucher: https://myaccount.cyclescheme.co.uk/request/869546585712

Once you have created this voucher and RHUL have confirmed your eligibility you will be sent a letter to sign to confirm that you wish to take part in the scheme.  This must be signed and returned to the Human Resources department who will then authorise Cyclescheme to issue you with your hire agreement and your voucher.  You will then be able to redeem this against the equipment you wish to purchase.

General information:

Cyclescheme website:  www.cyclescheme.co.uk

Frequently Asked Questions: link to FAQ doc

Process for joining the scheme: link to Flowchart doc

USS/ SAUL pension scheme members:  If you contribute to either USS or SAUL your pension will not be affected as it is your gross salary, before salary sacrifice, which is pensionable

Changes to the Scheme

The following changes have been made to the Cyclescheme in response to the August 2010 HMRC Employment Income Manual updates. These changes affect all employees currently participating in the scheme if their intial 'hire period' ends after the 6th August 2010.

• No guarantee of offer of ownership can be given to employees at any point before or during the hire period;
• At the end of the initial 12 month hire period, employees may be given the option to take ownership of the bicycle or extend the hire period with Cyclescheme.  The appropriate Market Value will be calculated using HMRC’s Valuation Table;
• Employees who choose to sign a hire agreement with Cyclescheme may be given the option to take ownership of the bicycle at the end of the extended hire period;
• Employees are free to participate in the scheme again once their initial hire period has ended, even if they sign a hire agreement with Cyclescheme. 
• The ‘acceptable disposal value percentages’ in HMRC’s Valuation Table for bikes aged up to 4 years are 3% or 7% inclusive of VAT.
• Employees FAQ's
• Flow Chart for FMVP

If you have any questions regarding the scheme please contact bikescheme@rhul.ac.uk or alternatively employees can contact cycleshceme direct on telephone 0844 879 5101 or email info@cyclescheme.co.uk