The Cycle to Work scheme is a Government tax break, which helps you as an employee acquire a bike and safety accessories for cycling to work.
As an employee of WSH, you may acquire a bike and safety accessories to the increased value of £3,000 from June 2020, to allow the purchase of Electric bikes, through your employer. You could make up to 42% savings on a brand new bike and safety accessories as you won’t have to pay any tax or National Insurance on the benefit.
You will then be able to pay for this monthly from your salary normally over a period of 12 months - this is known as a salary sacrifice.
There are two schemes available for West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust staff
1. Halfords Cycle2work Scheme
- Apply online at http://www.cycle2work.info/. The employer code is WSHC2W.
- The application generates an e-mail to the Trust stating that you have requested a voucher
- Payroll are then requested to provide information confirming details of employment (ie you are a member of staff and you are not about to leave etc.). We also do a check to ensure that the sacrifice will not take you below the National Minimum Wage
- Once this is received the application is approved and you can print off your voucher online and collect your bike.
- You will receive a copy of the agreement signed by the Trust for your records.
2. Vivup: This scheme has a large network of independent cycleshops in the UK.
- Apply online at www.vivup.co.uk
- The application generates an e-mail to the Trust stating that you have requested a voucher
- Payroll are then requested to provide information confirming details of employment (ie you are a member of staff and you are not about to leave etc.). We also do a check to ensure that the sacrifice will not take you below the National Minimum Wage
- Once this information is received the application is approved online.
- Vivup will then contact you via email to advise on the approval and enable you to collect the bike.
The process can take some time to complete although it can be as short as a week; typically the process can take up to a month.
Towards the end of the agreement either Halfords or Vivup will contact you to discuss what you want to happen at the end of the agreement. The options will be fully explained and will enable you to reduce the tax implications to a minimum.
If you leave the Trusts employment before the end of the agreement then you will have to pay the remaining balance outstanding on the scheme from your net pay. This will mean that you will lose some of the tax savings offered as part of the scheme.
The FAQs for each supplier can be found on their websites and address the most common issues raised in connection with the cycle schemes.