The best for employees, employers and bike shops.
This article focuses on our favourite scheme, but at Inspiral Cycles we also accept Cycle-to-Work vouchers from all major schemes.
From your salary you pay 25% PAYE income tax, and 8% NI contributions. If you’re a higher rate taxpayer then you pay more. The Cycle-to-Work salary sacrifice scheme allows you to make a big saving, because you pay for your new bike before this tax has been deducted from your salary!
There are lots of different companies that deliver this scheme. They’re FCA approved and they handle the paperwork and the hire agreements. But some have extra charges that aren’t clear at the start, and many aren’t fair to the bike shop that you use.
Green Commute Initiative are a not-for-profit organisation that has the simplest process, the clearest information and the lowest charges for everyone involved. They won BikeBiz’s award for “Best Retailer Services 2022”, because they are awesome.
Once an employer has decided to use this scheme, then employees can get started right away. They can choose their bike package with us (or any other bike shop) and then apply for their voucher by completing this online form: https://www.greencommuteinitiative.uk/instant-quotes/
We think the key points to note are:
- The employee gets a new bike at a great price.
- The Green Commute Initiative (GCI) scheme doesn’t include a large “ownership transfer fee” at the end of the period, like some other schemes. (If your current scheme charges more than £1 to transfer ownership at the end of the hire period, they’re ripping you off.)
- The scheme is intended for “active travel”: doesn’t have to be used for cycling to work.
- The employer makes up to 13.8% savings on NI contributions.
- Salary sacrifice shouldn’t take an employee’s wage below the legal minimum wage.
- Minimal admin – all electronic.
- GCI can finance the scheme to prevent any impact on the employers cashflow.
- GCI are registered by the FCA (financial conduct authority).
- Improve your employee benefits package.
- May encourage people to buy bikes from Inspiral Cycles and support the local economy. We’re an independent retailer that is here for our local community, and we have just been voted BikeBiz best independent bike dealer of the year 2022!
- All cycle-to-work-schemes make their money by charging a commission from the bike shop. GCI charge the lowest commission in the business and make payment within a couple of days. For example, Halfords Cycle2Work scheme charges double the commission on the bike shop, takes over 1 month to make payment to the bike shop, and charges the highest “ownership transfer fee” to the employee. If your employer uses the Halfords scheme, they’re simply allowing Halfords to rinse us all. (Halfords stores still accept GCI vouchers, so there’s no reason to change.)
More information is available on the GCI website:
https://www.greencommuteinitiative.uk/a-step-by-step-guide-to-gci/
https://www.greencommuteinitiative.uk/gci-information-packs/
Please contact Gary at Inspiral Cycles, or get in touch with GCI directly if you have any questions.
