Welcome to the bikes for staff website

You are invited to make big savings on the cost of new bikes and related safety and security equipment under a Government initiative (Green Transport Plan) aimed at getting more people on their bikes to work.

Oxford Brookes University has linked with a partner called Cyclescheme, which uses its networks to connect with local bike retailers, and we can now offer a deal whereby you can order up to £1,500 of equipment, and pay Brookes back for it over 18 months through an arrangement called salary sacrifice. The savings are very worthwhile and you will see that, as you pay for your bike through salary sacrifice you are being charged from your gross salary rather than your net salary, which means you are saving tax and national insurance contributions on the cost of the goods for the 18 months of the loan.

The scheme is a voucher scheme and can be joined at any time. There is a turnaround time of about three weeks between ordering your bike and receiving the voucher to cash in. There are eligibility criteria for applicants to fulfil. You must sign a hire agreement document to agree to salary sacrifice. The terms and conditions of the hire agreement and effects of salary sacrifice can be read about in the frequently asked questions section.

Here is a whistle stop tour of how the scheme works:

• Equipment
• Eligibility
• Salary sacrifice
• Steps to getting a bike
• Arrangements at the end of the 18 month period
• More information
• Contact

Equipment

The government says that you must mainly use the bike for commuting to work, and part journeys count in the equation. You can use it for leisure cycling as well and can select the bike of your choice from several bike retailers in the area

You can order a voucher for up to £1,500. If your bike turns out to be more expensive, you can always make up the difference, but you must be aware the extra portion can’t be included in the salary sacrifice arrangement. The arrangement is fixed at 18 months which is the duration of the loan and therefore the salary sacrifice.

Eligibility

Brookes will want to know that you earn enough to reasonably make your loan repayments, and that you have a contract that is long enough to allow you to pay the full sum back (see eligibility criteria). Full- and part-time staff can join, so long as they fit the criteria. If you leave before the 18 months is over, you must complete payment for your bike in the way described (see early leavers)

Salary sacrifice

This is a way of paying back for your goods to comply with the Consumer Credit Act. The arrangement yields significant tax savings. You can read about how salary sacrifice works in the FAQs; there is advice there on how your pension position and your benefits position could be affected by the scheme so please make sure you have looked at them and know what you are signing up to.

Steps to getting a bike

1. Research: Go and discuss your bike requirements with a retailer in the scheme. Price up your goods and record your requirements on the quote form. (These are held at the cycle retailers.)
2. Order: place your electronic order here. Please select the 18 month agreement online form as this is the scheme that has been agreed for Oxford Brookes University. This will trigger the whole process. NB. If you are not a computer user, please put your quote form in the internal mail to Liz Drewett in OCSLD, Wheatley Campus, and indicate that you are happy for her to order on your behalf (phone 5816 if you want to discuss this)
3. Hire agreement: will be generated online automatically. Print it off and retain it for your information. For non computer users a hire agreement will be sent to you to sign and return to Liz Drewett in OCSLD.
4. Voucher: This will be sent to you in the internal mail. You can redeem this against your goods at the shop immediately. (As you will start paying for the voucher immediately you receive it, it’s a good idea to collect your bike quickly)

Arrangements at the end of the 18 month period

When you have finished paying the 18 loan instalments through salary sacrifice, Brookes will ask if you want to pay a final amount and become the owner of the bike. Consumer Credit regulations call this amount Fair Market Value.

Happy cycling

More information

• FAQs
• Loans for purchase of Bicycles or Season Tickets (linked to intranet)
• Local Cyclescheme bike shops
• Cyclesheme extranet for Brookes: request your voucher here

 

Contact

Liz Drewett (x5816) and Lynn Money (x3903)

 

Updated May 2011