Cycle to Work Scheme

This page provides an introduction to the UK Government's Cycle to Work scheme and how it is administered.

What is the Cycle to Work Scheme?

To promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution, the 1999 Finance Act introduced an annual tax exemption, known as the Cycle to Work scheme, which allows employers to provide cycles and cyclists' safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The exemption was one of a series of measures introduced under the Government's Green Transport Plan. The official Department of Transport guidelines give the detailed background on the scheme, but are quite heavy going!

Is there more than one scheme?

There is only one Cycle to Work tax exemption scheme - but there are a number of scheme operators, all of which can assist in the implementation and administration of the scheme on behalf of employers and employees. We are able to support both of the two main types of Cycle to Work scheme implementation:

• Those that are administered by third parties, which are often based on a system of vouchers, such as cyclescheme.co.uk, OnYourBike etc; all of which we are registered with and regularly supply bikes through.
• Our own directly administered scheme, which carries with it a number of additional practical and financial benefits for both employers and employees due to the absence of third party fees and commission. Schemes that are self administered by employers will also fall under this scheme.

Each Cycle to Work scheme implementation, whether administered through ourselves or a third party, will in operate slightly differently, but all will result in significant savings on the purchase of new bikes - to give you an idea of potential savings, please try out this calculator. We are only too happy to talk to you about how you can purchase a bike from us under any of the schemes.

The tax and National Insurance benefits of all third party schemes are identical to our own, but are slightly more restrictive and don't offer the additional benefits of the Epic Cycles scheme, such as the free Safety Pack of accessories.

Why Purchase a Cycle to Work Bike through Epic Cycles?

Benefits to employers and employees of using Epic Cycles for your tax free bikes:

• Sizing/fitting: Epic Cycles have a national reputation for sizing and tuning the fit of bikes to individual riders – essential for enjoyable, comfortable and injury free cycling! A free fitting session (worth £95) is included with every bike purchase – although we can also advise over the phone if a visit is not practical.
• Advice: We pride ourselves on offering informed advice on which bikes will suit a rider’s individual needs and budget. We will never try to sell you something purely because it is convenient for us!
• Test rides: We operate an extensive fleet of over 100 test bikes (road bikes only), covering many models, makes and sizes. We are also situated immediately to some quiet roads for a proper test ride.
• Servicing: All bike come with a free first service, but we also offer highly competitive workshop rates for any further servicing if needed too.
• Free shipping: All bikes can be shipped free of charge to what Parcel Force refer to as “Mainland UK” – essentially all points to the south of a line from Glasgow to Aberdeen. We can also ship to other areas within the UK at competitive rates.
• No hidden fees : We charge neither employers nor employees any admin fees to use any of the third party schemes (such as cyclesceme.co.uk, onyourbike, Bikes-for-NHS etc.).
• Lowest possible admin overhead: For any employers who opt to use Epic Cycles to administer the cycle to work scheme for them, we have no minimum commitment requirements and minimal paperwork (which can all be electronic). In addition, there are no administration or sign-up fees payable either by employers or employees. For those employers who have already signed up with a third party scheme administrator, we can assist in simplifying the admin side of things as we have extensive experience and strong relationships with all of the major operators.

Need More Info?

Please visit our Epic Cycles C2W page for information on how we can add even more benefits to the Government scheme. Or if you have an individual question please feel free to contact us on 01584 879245 or via email at info@epic.cycles.co.uk.