Royal Mail Group has ended its tripartite arrangement with Futuremedia and Halfords Business Services for its cycle-to-work plan, and instead handed the entire scheme to the retailer to run.
Previously the scheme was managed by Futuremedia, which oversaw all hiring agreements and legal paperwork as well as running a website and a call centre for staff queries. Halfords Business Services, meanwhile, provided the bikes loaned to employees.
After Halfords extended its services to include the management of cycle-to-work schemes, Royal Mail Group terminated its contract with Futuremedia.
Shan Lawrence, voluntary benefits manager at the Royal Mail Group, said that the use of a single provider would make the operation much smoother.
“Halfords has realised it is missing a trick in the opportunity for it to take the whole process – to take the management and the provision of the bikes. When it entered the market of salary sacrifice, it [only offered] the end product,” she said.
The new service will allow staff to access information online about the scheme, and calculate the impact of a salary sacrifice. They will also be able to look at the range of bikes on offer, although Royal Mail Group caps the amount each employee can spend at £500.
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Approximately 2,500 Royal Mail staff have taken up the cycle-to-work scheme. It has proved popular among staff who travel to work before public transport is up and running for the day.
The scheme is unrelated to the bikes used for postal deliveries.
i think the cap of £500 should be raised to £1000 as i feel it restricts the model and type of bike we can ride
i totally agree with the above comment i think more like £1500 i a was looking at a chris boardman bike at £1300 but i cant get it even though i offered £800 pound of cash on top the voucher halfords said i could not get it.and i also have a lot of friends who wanted to spend more.
I also think the cap of £500 should be raised to £1000 as I feel it restricts the model and type of bike we can ride and bike accessorier.
another half thought out deal , do people not realise that most decent bikes cost well in in excess of £500 ? everybody benefits from the cycletowork deal , so why not at least double the ceiling to £1000. utterly pointless
Bikes at halfords are not really reliable you’ve heard the phrase buy cheap buy twice I know different shops who are in the halfords scheme n have better bikes with better group sets on them that will last a long time…….. But as usual royal mail doing things by half again
I ride 200 miles a week minimum most weeks and to do that you need a quality bike with quality components. A cheap bike with cheap wheels will let you down. When you are riding to work at 5.30am in the winter in sub zero temperatures you need a bike that will not let you down.
I have just been declined the cycle to work , I work part time for Royal Mail, but work most weeks.
Why has this happened
I have used the cycle to work scheme 3 times now and each time have used the maximum of £500, so since 2007 I have had three bikes worth around the region of £500. I feel if I had been allowed to get a bike in the £1,000 region i would not have spent this amount, as i would not have had to change my bikes as often or at all!
Totally agree, £500 wont get you top quality today.really needs to be £1500 to give plenty of scope. Obviously people dont HAVE to spend the full amount
How do you get the code for cycle to work
just feel the need to agree with everyone!£500 is not enough…
been trying to get code for cycle 2 work no one is helping,so I will walk.
No comment
how do i a get my bike