How long did it take your company to setup the Cycle to Work Scheme?

cheerspal

This has been going on two months now. I have even gotten a HR person from another company pass on all the details to how she set it up.

It really annoying, I was told initially it was all ready to go. I ordered the bike and got an invoice, only to be told by HR that it was setup for the UK and not in Ireland. I had to go back to the store and cancel my order!!!

The summer is nearly over, best time of the year to be cycling and they cant even get it up and running. The scheme is available for 8 months at this stage!

:mad:

ntlbell

we're "hoping" to get it sorted by December.

:mad::mad::mad::mad:

thirtythirty

It's gonna be another couple months for us.

It's not as simple as it seems between, arranging corporate accounts with bike suppliers, agreeing internal processes with finance, HR and payroll teams, together with the external payroll provider, and then obtaining management buy in. Then there's the tax issues to work through...

Do you know if it's retrospectively claimable? I went ahead and bought a bike, can i claim if i hand in the receipt once it's been set up?

ednwireland

never happened for us company hasn't got money to buy bikes (i'd rather get paid). i'm cutting company phones as we speak.

penexpers

spottyelephant wrote: »

Do you know if it's retrospectively claimable? I went ahead and bought a bike, can i claim if i hand in the receipt once it's been set up?

I don't think so - the money for the bike purchase has to come from your employer afaik.

My company finally got it set up last week - should be making my purchase soon.

Ongoing.

Lumen

The scheme could not be more simple.

"Administering" it involves buying things, keeping track of what you've bought, and (optionally) adjusting salaries to claw back the money, which are things all companies do anyway.

BigAl81

My company wont do it at all.... boo urns to HP!!

Highway_To_Hell

The scheme was up and running in our company by the end of Jan 09 but the employee contribution had to be deducted from pay in one installment therfore no cost to the employer.

stevensi

Collected my new bike on friday evening. Altogether the process took about 8 - 10 weeks.

Jip

2 months ? To paraphrase Monty Python, "you lucky lucky bastard ".

We've been waiting since it was first mooted back in December and the details came out in the New Year. We've just about got it sorted now.

ROK ON

I work for an amazingly bureaucratic company where all decisions have to go thru coorate HQ (based in Milan). We got it sorted very quickly. If this company can do it there is no excuse.

Dominoid

Our HQ is in the UK and they have their own scheme in the UK so confusion all around! I think in the UK the company buys and owns the bike?

Gave HR contact no's web addresses, think they are just too lazy or cannot be bothered.

Jawgap

I'm in the public sector, so naturally ours took weeks to set up:)

Seriously, we seem to have been lucky. Our scheme was set up and running in a matter of weeks after it was announced. The main delay for me was waiting for the shop to get the bike, and then there were some complications because I was getting a bike from the UK - but nothing insurmountable.

I really don't understand why organisations (public and private) find the scheme so complicated. The only way it could've been easier was if John Gormley drove around giving out bikes on street corners!

dexty

HSE still trying to set it up! Any updates did they manage to roll it out in Dublin NE?

irishmotorist

I mentioned it to HR (an e-mail with some of the benefits that we all know about) and just over a month later it was in. They saw it as the genuinely good idea that it is and went for it.

stuf

My company had the policy in place 48 hours after someone first asked them about it - everyone who's used it has had a smooth ride.

Jawgap

irishmotorist wrote: »

I mentioned it to HR (an e-mail with some of the benefits that we all know about) and just over a month later it was in. They saw it as the genuinely good idea that it is and went for it.

That seems to be the defining feature - where you have a HR manager who sees it as a positive it get introduced quickly and easily.

That was the situation where I work - HR manager liked it and wanted to introduce it immediately. They went looking for more information from Revenue and Dept of Finance, but then got fed up waiting and went ahead and started buying bikes anyway.

So far no one has come looking for the bikes back!

Deisetrek

Hounded the HR department for the early part of the year ,we were actually announcing redundancies at the time and continue to do so ....but I never let up with the lobbying and e -mails . Eventually , we got it up and running and it's just closed since last week (for this year) . Local bike shops cleaned up and we all got excellent bikes out of the scheme , SO DON'T GIVE UP ........Get going though because if the Greens get turfed out on their ar**s in the next few months it's probably going to be one of the first benifits to go!

Euro_Kraut

dexty wrote: »

HSE still trying to set it up!

I predict will have in place by 2013 at a cost of €36.4million.

Having said that it appear many public sector organistations have done this faster than some private sector companies.

Jawgap

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

I predict will have in place by 2013 at a cost of €36.4million.

Having said that it appear many public sector organistations have done this faster than some private sector companies.

Of course you realise that's a complete fabrication! Knowing the HSE this is how the €36.4 million will break down:-

1. Cost of bikes €0.4 million (to be collected back from employees)
2. Management Consultants to advise on setting up of scheme €7.8 million
3. Cost of database (design & implement) €3.2 million
4. Cost of 2nd database to replace 1st one €17.4 million
5. Cost of setting up regional C2W units €4.2 million
6. Recruitment & Selection of National C2W Director €0.3 million
7. Recruitment & Selection of Regional C2W Managers €0.8 million
8. Cost of setting up National Centres of Excellence for C2W €2.5 million

:)

Ryaner

We got ours setup during the first week of January. Would have been sooner expect that our finance guy held of reading the Revenue doc as it looked long.
Deductions take place over the full 12 month period in our place too.

kensutz

Deisetrek wrote: »

Hounded the HR department for the early part of the year ,we were actually announcing redundancies at the time and continue to do so ....but I never let up with the lobbying and e -mails . Eventually , we got it up and running and it's just closed since last week (for this year) . Local bike shops cleaned up and we all got excellent bikes out of the scheme , SO DON'T GIVE UP ........Get going though because if the Greens get turfed out on their ar**s in the next few months it's probably going to be one of the first benifits to go!

You must be in the same place as I am. I heard of a few lads in work hounding HR and management to get on the scheme. When it was announced it was going ahead, I went in on the Wednesday and picked up the bike on the Thursday.

cheerspal

Looks like it not going ahead anytime soon. Just got an email..........

" I can’t prioritise this in my work schedule. I am too busy "

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Her title is Benefits manager apparently!

johnp

We just got the go-ahead for this :pac:

Quick question (and I hope I'm posting in the right place), is there a link to a site that shows all bike shops that are partaking? I think I remember seeing one before, but can't find it now.

Morgan

johnp wrote: »

We just got the go-ahead for this :pac:

Quick question (and I hope I'm posting in the right place), is there a link to a site that shows all bike shops that are partaking? I think I remember seeing one before, but can't find it now.

It completely depends on your company - i.e. if they restrict where you can buy the bike. There are no restrictions inherent in the scheme itself. Intermediary companies such as BikeToWork.ie may have a list of suppliers (like this one) and the OPW has it's own list for government departments.

getmoving

My company (10 employees) has just set it up. Had requested it in June, then provided them with the Revenue booklet and a "what it means to employers" print out from the Trek website. Picked out a bike shop two weeks ago, and am heading down there with my cheque tomorrow evening with my cheque : )

johnp

Morgan wrote: »

It completely depends on your company - i.e. if they restrict where you can buy the bike. There are no restrictions inherent in the scheme itself. Intermediary companies such as BikeToWork.ie may have a list of suppliers (like this one) and the OPW has it's own list for government departments.

The secretary originally mentioned 2 shops to me (that happen to be local), but then I asked if it could be any shop. She said yes, so long as she doesn't have to make any trips to them, which is fair enough.

Thanks for the links.

deremol

Not as lucky as some of you.. I work in public sector, Scheme was introduced towards end of May... wooohoo you would think, just select your bike and away you go... not the case... I selected bike after consulting the boards members.. as you do:)

Checked the net for best price and decided to buy from up north... had problems regarding different rates of tax, etc.. all seems to be sorted now and bike shop should be getting paid tomorrow and hopefully with fingers crossed... and toes too just in case... I should have my new bike early next week:P

BostonB

Public Sector. No sign of it at all.

villaman

BostonB wrote: »

Public Sector. No sign of it at all.

DOES THAT APPLY TO ALL PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES?

BostonB

villaman wrote: »

DOES THAT APPLY TO ALL PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES?

Nope. Every place is different.

monument

Irish Times had an article on this last week -- Few public servants take to the bike.

BostonB

It's a poor article it assumes its lack of interest. Whereas it's probably not available and no facilities.

jam_on_toast

BostonB wrote: »

It's a poor article it assumes its lack of interest. Whereas it's probably not available and no facilities.

Agreed. Still no sign of it in my place despite OPW site saying all departments must introduce it.

Traumadoc

Hse have not introduced it , but I fear that an organisation that spends 36,000 euro on a computer payroll system ( per employee!) could well have the ability to exceed the etimated 36.4 million cost to introduce it:rolleyes:.

jesus_thats_gre

Got a new Trek 6500 about 2 weeks ago. Been setup in my company a few months. Deducting the cost monthly too.

Dominoid

HR must have read this thread!

Bike scheme approved, deductions over 12 months but have to get the bikes from Halfords.:D

seamus

Started in my place in the middle of June, stating that all bikes had to be order by the end of July. HR person dealing with the scheme promptly went away on holidays for 3 weeks. Placed the order in mid-July. Heard nothing. Got an email last week from the supplier stating that, "I know you were told that there are delays", when in fact this wasn't true, and goes on to state that delivery of all Trek road bikes is delayed until early September because there's just none available.

I said I won't be here in September to take delivery. He said that they've organised to supply another brand of bike (Merida), and he'd give me a ring, "later today" to see if I'd be interested in any of them instead. I am, but that was last Friday and I've heard nothing from him since and no response to my emails.

So it took 6 months to set up, and they managed to completely fnck it up.

DePurpereWolf

UCC, so public sector, still no sign of live, They said they were going to have it ready by the end of June, last date I've heard was September.

It's a good thing to buy a bike in the winter anyway.

alfalad

Cheque was issued in the second of January, they had the forms ready to go before Christmas and i had the invoice ready. All I had to do was sign it on the morning of the second and had the cheque in the evening.

happy_73

DePurpereWolf wrote: »

UCC, so public sector, still no sign of live, They said they were going to have it ready by the end of June, last date I've heard was September.

It's a good thing to buy a bike in the winter anyway.

Sent you PM re UCC

S