There are lots of good reasons for local businesses and workplaces to sign up for the Bath Ride to Work by Bike project. Here are the key ways that companies can profit from making cycling to work a more viable option for their employees.
Employer benefits
FINANCIAL
- People who cycle to work are physically fitter and healthier, and so take fewer sick days.
- More reliable journey times means less stress and better time-keeping.
- Cycling also improves mental health and emotional wellbeing, leading to less absenteeism and increased productivity of your staff.
- By promoting cycle commuting you can reduce your provision of staff parking spaces, potentially saving a significant amount of money on renting spaces. (You will also save money if your council implements a Workplace Parking Levy, which charges per car.)
- Save money on business mileage by encouraging employees to cycle for work-related travel within Bath.
- B&NES Council provides free bike stands for businesses, through Life Cycle UK.
- By offering a Cycle to Work bike-buying scheme (a government tax exemption initiative, not related to the Ride to Work project), employers can typically save in the region of 12% of the total value of salary sacrifice because of reductions in the amount of National Insurance Contributions due. You can even save more tax by claiming capital allowances.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
- Having a greater proportion of your workforce commuting sustainably reduces your company’s carbon footprint and environmental impact – less local congestion and pollution. This demonstrates corporate social responsibility, which is good for your company branding.
- Taking positive steps to improve employee health and welfare indicates that a company is concerned with its workforce’s wellbeing, which will assist in staff recruitment and retention.
- ‘Millennials’ (people born after 1983) will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025. They feel employers should be taking a lead in reducing their impact on the environment.
What you need to take part
- employees to sign up for the 6-week loan period (criteria apply). Read details of the many employee benefits here.
- You must provide easily accessible – preferably covered – storage for employees to lock their electric bicycles. Ebikes are heavy so in general there can’t be any steps, or heavy doors, to negotiate.
- Ideally you will have somewhere staff can get changed if they prefer to commute in non-work attire.
Be inspired!
There are lots of online resources to help employers promote cycle commuting. Here are just a few…
Sustrans This walking/cycling promotion charity has a wealth of information and practical advice on workplace travel planning, and offers bespoke travel advice and training to organisations.
Life Cycle UK Organises free bike stands for local organisations and promotes cycling.
Cyclescheme The UK’s leading provider of the Cycle to Work scheme – a UK government tax exemption initiative to promote healthier journeys to work, which enables employers to loan cycles to employees as a tax-free benefit.
Personnel Today Sets out the business case for setting up a Cycle to Work scheme.
Vitality Business health insurance that rewards your employees for leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Their Vitality Healthy Workplace scheme aims to “help empower organisations to inspire positive behavioural change, build a healthier more engaged and more productive workforce, no matter what your business size”. Find out more here.
B&NES Council The website contains lots of information on its cycling services provision in and around Bath.