Cyclescheme encourages your staff cycle to work, which is good for them and good for your business. These are the top five reasons why.

1. Cyclescheme is cost-efficient

Your staff: Save 23-39% on the price of a new bike and/or equipment, as they don’t pay income tax or national insurance on the RRP. It’s deducted from their gross salary. The deductions are taken in instalments, which spreads the cost. Once cycling, your employees will notice a drop in their travel costs – could they go as far as ditching their car altogether?

Your business: Saves 13.8% on the price of each bike/equipment package, since you’re exempt from employer national insurance contributions on the chosen package value. That’s £138 for every £1,000 spent through Cyclescheme!  

2. Cycling can improve health

Your staff: Can expect to lose weight: moderate cycling burns around 300 calories per hour, and regular cyclists lose 14lb in their first year of commuting by bike. They’ll also improve cardiovascular fitness, halving their likelihood of heart disease. Additionally, cycling is good for their mental health. Like other forms of exercise, it reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.

Your business: Will lose fewer days to employee sickness. Research by Sustrans found that cyclists take half as many sick days as sedentary employees, an average of 2.4 per year against 4.5.

3. Cycling improves punctuality and productivity

Your staff: Won’t be late for work because they’re stuck in a traffic jam or waiting for a delayed train. Cyclists are the most likely to arrive on time and also feel the most energised by their journey. Cyclists thus enjoy a less stressful trip to work (no rushing) and a less stressful day at work because they arrive raring to go, rather than feeling unmotivated and overwhelmed. 

Your business: Three quarters of employees who obtain a bike through Cyclescheme say they are both more motivated and more productive, according to research by GlaxoSmithKline. And, of course, the cyclists are at work on time! 

4. Cyclescheme is cost neutral

Your staff: The alternative to spreading the cost of a bike through Cyclescheme is to do it through a personal loan or in-store credit. That’s likely to come with interest fees. Cyclescheme, however, is even better than interest-free loan.

Your business: It doesn’t cost you anything to sign up to Cyclescheme, and you can be up and running in under ten minutes. It doesn’t cost you anything to run either. It’s easy to administer, as Cyclescheme handle the logistics. You just to need to approve employee applications.

5. It’s good for the environment

Your staff and your business: Every member of staff who cycles to work reduces their own carbon footprint and that of the company. A bicycle and rider produce just 21g of CO2 per kilometre, while a car produces 271g/km  – more than ten times as much. Unlike cyclists, car drivers also produce noise pollution, toxic air pollution, and costly congestion. Environmentally friendly transport is good for everyone, and it’s good for any business to be seen to be promoting it.