ONE WAY TO help get yourself fitter is to get pumping those legs on a bike to and from work. The Cycle to Work scheme was implemented by the government a couple of years ago, and has benefits for both employers and employees.
If you’re an employer looking to avail of the scheme but are still a bit baffled as to how it works in your favour, we’ve answered some of the basics for you.
Q: How does the cycle to work scheme benefit me?
A: Well, firstly it might help you get fit. Secondly, it will aid the environment if you’re ditching the car for your commute and cycling instead. Thirdly, it will save you a few quid if you are looking to buy a bike to aid you on your journey to and from work.
Q: How is my employer involved in all of this?
A: You choose the bike and the necessary safety equipment to go with it, and your employer picks up the tab. Obviously, you’ll need to tell your employer you wish to engage in the scheme first. It may be at your employers discretion where you purchase your bike, and the price range available.
Q: And how do I pay for it then?
A: You then enter into something called a ‘salary sacrifice’. This means you’ll pay back the cost of the bike over a time that’s no more than twelve months. Each repayment will be deducted from your gross pay (ie, before tax, PRSI, Universal Social Charge etc).
Advertisement
Q: Do I actually save money on the bike by getting it this way?
A: Good news, yes you do.
Q: OK, cool. How much can I save then?
A: Well, that all depends on how much you earn each year before tax, and how much the bike etc costs. The good folk at Bike To Work have provided a handy calculator to help you work it out here. But you can save anywhere between 31% and 52% on the cost of the bike.
Q: So, I can get as many bikes as I like through this, once I’m able to pay for them each week/month?
A: Nope, afraid not. As an employee, you can only avail of the scheme once every five years.
Q: OK, but is there a limit to how much I can spend on the bike?
A: Technically, no. But only the first €1,000 will be exempted from income tax
Q: Do I have to use the bike to travel to and from work?
A: The bike must be used for part or the full journey to and from work. There’s no obligation on your employer to check how you’re using the bike. But, they should ask you for a signed statement that only you will be using the bike and that it will be used to travel to and from work.
Q: Can I use the scheme to buy a second hand bicycle?
A: No, the scheme only applies to new bikes and new safety equipment
Q: And what safety equipment is covered by all of this?
A: Cycle helmets, bells and bulb horns, lights and dynamo packs, mirrors, mudguards, cycle clips and dress guards, luggage carriers, panniers and straps to help carry luggage, locks and chains, pumps, puncture repair kits, cycle tool kits and tyre sealant, reflective clothing, front reflectors and spoke reflectors.
Q: No spokey dokeys?
A: No, sadly not.
Q: Is there a site to get the full details on the scheme?
A: Yeah, Bike To Work seems to be the place to go.
At HT, Galway have shown a superior urgency and smarter shape than Tipp, and fully deserve that lead. As a Tipp supporter I’d like to think Tipp have more intensity-gears they can go up, but they’ll have to work very hard for this one.
There seems to be a lack of intensity from Tipp and some poor decision making, surprised at the amount of space and at how easy it is for some of the Galway backs to come out with the ball
Well, we’ll certainly be BIG underdogs for the final after that battle, but we’ll be the better for that Battle! 2pts separating both teams after 2 Semifinals, amazing. Great weekend for Hurling.
'In ways it’s another game but it’s an opportunity to play in front of 60,000 plus'
29 mins ago
0
Tactics in the shower and Snapchat: Obsession fuels Brandon Kavanagh's rise in League of Ireland
David Sneyd
59 mins ago
0
In Demand
Crowley yet to agree new contract but 'hopes to continue' with Munster
17 hrs ago
88
Sign in or create a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 161 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.Privacy Policy
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 143 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 113 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 134 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
That Tipp minor team were just ruthless in that hiding they gave Galway!
Brutal Galway team, there was one lad who didn’t even hold the hurley properly, and their keeper was woeful
Shows the inconsisten standard of refereeing..two shoulder charges..one last night ..free in..today..properly sidelines cut.
At HT, Galway have shown a superior urgency and smarter shape than Tipp, and fully deserve that lead. As a Tipp supporter I’d like to think Tipp have more intensity-gears they can go up, but they’ll have to work very hard for this one.
There seems to be a lack of intensity from Tipp and some poor decision making, surprised at the amount of space and at how easy it is for some of the Galway backs to come out with the ball
I thought Tipp would be much cleaner and sharper. Hopefully they’ll improve.
Joe going off could actually help Galway paradoxically
Well, we’ll certainly be BIG underdogs for the final after that battle, but we’ll be the better for that Battle! 2pts separating both teams after 2 Semifinals, amazing. Great weekend for Hurling.
This is an awful game of hurling. Messy, sloppy and no clean ball. It might be close but that doesn’t make it a good game.
Agree thought it was poor quality especially for Galway in the last few minutes Tipp will be better in the final.
A lot of handling errors on both sides, it’s a case of over trained under match practiced players particularly on Tipp’s side