Cycle To Work
At Peak eBikes we are happy to supply any of our ebikes on the Cycle To Work scheme, a government initiative introduced in the Finance Act 1999 to promote cycle use. Read more about it here.
The scheme allows employers to "loan" or lease cycles and safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The employee then pays for the bike and equipment typically over a 12 month period, after which the the employee is able to take ownership for a nominal fee to the employer.
The benefits to the employee is that the payments are deducted from your PAYE pay before tax and other contributions, reducing your tax liability and so price of the bike by as much as 40%.
There is a lot of confusion about how the scheme is administered and managed by different employers so before proceeding with a Bike To Work purchase from us we strongly suggest you read the FAQ at the foot of the page.
How To Buy The Bike
First call to see us and select your new bike from our extensive range. We'll supply you with all the info you need to request a purchase voucher.
Next you need to submit this voucher to your HR department or direct to the third party agent (CycleScheme, Green Commute etc.) using their online system.
When your purchase voucher is issued send it to us. We'll then prepare your new bike for collection.
How To Apply
Each employer have a different method for applying for a purchase voucher. Some require you to do it via your HR department some require you to use an online application process.
Once applied for vouchers typically take 2-4 weeks to be issued, although this can take longer, depending on your employer.
When your purchase voucher is issued send it to us. We'll then prepare your new bike for collection.
Cycle To Work
FAQ
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What is "Cycle To Work"?
This is a bit complicated, and often much misunderstood by people. To fully understand why you need to read this section and the section below, "Who Are CycleScheme.co.uk?"
The Cycle To Work scheme is a a salary sacrifice scheme operated by the government to encourage people to buy bikes and cycle to work, although of course you don't only have to use the bike for commuting! The very simple version of it is that your employer purchases a bike on your behalf and "rents" it to you for a period of 12 months.
You pay a rental fee each month of roughly 1/12th of the cost, so at the end of the 12 month rental period you've effectively purchased the bike. The neat bit is this monthly rental fee is deducted from your pay BEFORE tax and NI contribution, so it's effectively reducing the amount of pay you're taxed on. The upshot of this is you pay less tax, which when looked at another way reduces the price of the bike. Some employers will also cover the VAT portion of the purchase (20%), so you save that too! Typically a bike purchased on the Bike 2 Work scheme saves you around 30-40% of the overall price.
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Who are CycleScheme & Green Commute?
Many people think Cyclescheme.co.uk are an official body who manage the Cycle To Work scheme on behalf of the government, they're not. They are a commercial privately owned profit making business, often referred to as a "third party agent" who act as an agent for employers wishing to provide cycles to their staff on the Cycle To Work scheme. They are a "go-between" between the employer and the bike shop, they make their money by charging the bike shop a commission on every bike sale they are involved in. They are not the only agent who do this, there are many of them, however CycleScheme are by far the largest and most successful.
Employers do not need to use these agents to offer bikes to their staff, many don't, preferring to purchase the bike themselves direct from the shop and setup the rental agreements with their staff via their own HR departments. However there is a limited about of paperwork involved in doing that, so many opt to use an agent.
Green Commute are the same as CycleScheme, a commercial business setup to act as a go-between. They also charge a commission to the seller (us).
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Can anyone get a bike on the Cycle To Work scheme?
Almost anyone in employment, yes. There are some restrictions, and as they're constantly changing it wouldn't be right for us to list the exact details here, so best to check the exact requirements with your HR dept. But in a nutshell, almost anyone who is PAYE and in permanent employment is eligible.
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Can I buy a special offer bike on the Cycle To Work scheme?
YES! But, there are caveats. If your employer is purchasing the bike direct from us then you can buy any special offer bike at exactly the price seen on the screen. If though they are using a third party agent, like CycleScheme.co.uk then we have to increase the price of the bike slightly to cover the commission they charge. Get in touch for more details and to discuss a specific bike.
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Is my bike reserved once the order is placed?
Depends. Once you place the order we will send you the details to apply for your Cyclescheme or Green Commute purchase voucher, this can take from a few days to a few months for the voucher to be issued depending on how your employer administers the scheme in-house. Due to this timescale we can not guarantee your chosen bike will still be in stock when the voucher is issued. In most instances the bike will be available, but to ensure your bike is allocated to you, and so ensure it will be available when the voucher is issued you will need to pay a ten percent deposit, which we will refund once the voucher is received by us.
