Help your people save on a new bike, e-bike, and cycling equipment with Cyclescheme, the UK’s leading Cycle to Work scheme.

Civil service employees can save up to 47% through salary sacrifice, spread the cost through manageable monthly payments, and choose from more than 2,600 retailers across the UK. Cyclescheme is also free to set up, simple to manage, and can generate National Insurance savings for employers, making it a cost-effective benefit for all.

It’s a practical benefit with a real everyday impact. Lower commuting costs, healthier journeys, and happier starts to the working day.

Why offer a civil service Cycle to Work scheme?

Civil service sector employees can include emergency services, doctors, NHS staff, police, council workers, armed forces, teachers, and other education professionals in schools and institutions. That’s why civil service organisations need benefits that work for large, varied workforces. They also need to support wellbeing, manage costs, and make progress towards sustainability goals. A civil service Cycle to Work scheme can help with all three.

Employees can use Cyclescheme to access a bike, e-bike, and eligible accessories without paying the full cost upfront. Their repayments come from their salary before tax and National Insurance, helping them save money while spreading the cost. That can make active travel feel possible for someone who hasn’t cycled in years, as well as for an experienced rider who wants a better bike for a longer commute.

For your organisation, the benefit is also useful for your business as well as your people. It can support employee wellbeing, strengthen your benefits package, and encourage more sustainable travel across departments, offices, and public-service sites.

That’s why Cyclescheme has helped more than 1.2 million people and is trusted by over 50,000 employers. We’ve spent 20 years making cycling to work simpler, more affordable, and more accessible.

A cost-positive benefit for civil service employers and employees

As mentioned above, Cyclescheme’s civil service cycle to work scheme is free to set up and run for employers. There are no subscription fees or hidden scheme charges to worry about.

Once you’ve joined, your organisation covers the initial cost of approved cycling packages, then recovers that cost through employees’ salary sacrifice deductions. Not only do you get back the entire cost of each employee’s package, but you can also save up to 15% on Employer National Insurance Contributions through each agreement.

Not only do employees save on a new bike and any accessories they may need, but they can even use the Cyclescheme savings calculator to estimate just how much they can expect to save through the scheme. They can also use our health calculator to work out the potential health and environmental impacts of taking up the scheme too.

Simple procurement and scheme administration

Public-sector benefits need clear processes and strong governance with dependable support. That’s why Cyclescheme gives you a free online platform for applications and approvals, to help make scheme management as easy and low-admin as possible.

We provide guidance and promotional resources alongside ongoing support, so you can launch the benefit confidently and make sure your workforce knows that it’s available to them. Cyclescheme also manages Certificate creation and the end-of-hire ownership process, helping to reduce the day-to-day workload for your internal teams and ensuring you have one less thing to worry about.

So how does the civil service Cycle to Work scheme work?

Getting started is simple:

1. First, your organisation registers with Cyclescheme and sets its scheme rules, including the maximum Certificate value employees can request.
2. Employees then choose a bike, e-bike, and eligible cycling equipment from one of more than 2,600 retailers. They apply online for a Cyclescheme Certificate, and your team reviews the request and confirms their eligibility.
3. Once approved, the employee gets their Certificate and collects or orders their equipment. They then repay the cost through salary sacrifice over the agreed period.
4. At the end of the hire agreement, Cyclescheme manages the ownership process for you. That means less administration for HR, payroll, and benefits teams.

More choice for every civil service employee

Public sector and civil service employees are widely varied and diverse. This means employers need a benefit that suits people of all different ages, travelling needs, fitness levels, and physical capabilities.

Alongside the savings that are available for employees, Cyclescheme’s civil service Cycle to Work scheme offers the following:

A flexible scheme for different people in different departments and locations

Your workforce may be spread across regional offices, operational sites, hybrid-working arrangements, or even need to travel to various locations on a regular basis. Cyclescheme works for all these commuting and workplace needs.

The wide range of bike choice available through Cyclescheme means civil service employees can purchase something that works specifically for them. For example, someone who is comfortable with regular cycling can choose a standard bike. Meanwhile, an employee who is less experienced or needs to travel more on their commute can choose an electric bike (e-bike), which will give them assistance on their journey.

Beyond this, employees don’t have to use their bike for the entire commute. For some, it may provide a useful way to travel from their home to a train station, or from their office to a bus stop. This is why Cyclescheme is so accessible for civil service employees. There are options for everyone, no matter their commuting needs and no matter their level of cycling experience.

Support healthier and more sustainable public services

Cycling can turn a stressful commute into a refreshing and mood-boosting period of movement for civil service staff. In fact, in a Cyclescheme survey, 82% of participants reported feeling less stressed after cycle commuting, which shows how cycling is good for the mind as well as for the body. And this comes with benefits for workplace productivity and motivation too.

A civil service Cycle to Work scheme can also support wider environmental goals alongside employee wellbeing. Because it encourages people to rely less on cars and public transport (especially for shorter journeys), it promotes lower-emission commuting. This means it’s not only good for your employees, but it’s good for the environment and your company’s carbon footprint too.

Use the ESPO framework to implement your scheme.

Did you know that you could cut out most of the administration associated with procurement by using our ESPO Framework? As with all Framework contracts, you can bypass the usual stages and go straight to setting up Cyclescheme as a supplier.   

Great news! We have been awarded supplier status under the ESPO Framework to deliver both our Cyclescheme and Techscheme products.

What does this mean for employers?

Employers can access our services without the need to tender.

*Please note that tendering is only required should a contract exceed a particular threshold in according with EU law. The threshold can be found here

So what services are there?

Under the Framework we have been pre-selected for our ability to provide employers with a comprehensive range of benefits, which are:

• Cycle to Work Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Technology Purchasing Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Other benefits available under the Framework are:

• Childcare Vouchers Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Holiday Purchasing Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Qualifications and Work Place Training Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Workplace Parking Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Travel To work Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Healthcare and Wellbeing Benefits
• Lifestyle Voluntary Benefits (Retail and Leisure discounts)
• A Fully Managed Benefits Service

Which employers can access the Framework?

The framework is available for use nationally by any public sector body in the UK including, but not limited to…

• Schools & Academies
• Local Authority Establishments
• Police & Emergency Services
• NHS & HSC Bodies
• Central Government Departments & their agencies
• Registered Charities

What are the benefits of using the Framework?

• Saving time and money by putting a tender out
• Fully compliant with UK/EU procurement legislation
• All the supplier checks have been done, including financial stability, track record, experience and technical professionalism
• Pre-agreed terms & conditions to underpin all orders so no need to worry

How to apply?

Please use the following link to access the Framework. This takes you to ESPO’s dedicated page: https://www.espo.org/staff-benefits-319-23.html

Questions? Contact Cyclescheme:

Email: tenders@cyclescheme.co.uk 

Phone: 0331 630 5416

We are also a approved supplier on the Health Trust Europe

To access the framework please contact: rebecca.phillips@healthtrusteurope.com