I have just signed up Alara to Cyclescheme. This is a fantastic initiative where employees can get a really good bike for just over half price and pay for it out of their salary over 12 months. The idea is to encourage staff to cycle to work instead of driving or using public transport, thus helping the environment and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Joining the scheme is very simple process - employers just need to register on the cyclescheme website, complete 1 simple form and that’s it.

The way it works is that the company actually buys the bike on behalf of the employee, then the employee pays the company back over a period of 12 months through contributions from their salary. The company can claim back the VAT on the bike and also doesn’t have to pay tax or national insurance on the employee’s repayments so there’s a further saving. The overall cost of the bike is reduced by nearly 45% so the employee gets a great deal and the employer gets a fitter, healthier worker. To calculate how much you could save, click here.