Working in small business sometimes means you (and your team) have little time to think about health and fitness, but what if there was also a business benefit?
Apart from the obvious wellbeing benefits including stress management, reduced illness and therefore absenteeism there are also some tax relief and incentives so you can get fit and get a bit of extra cash in your pocket at the same time. Something worth thinking about?
Firstly, did you know you can claim mileage if you use your cycle for business purposes? Employees who use their own cycle for work (i.e. for cycling on business, not to and from work) are entitled to 20p per mile, tax-free. (N.B. there are different arrangements for self-employed people who use their cycles for business purposes. If this applies to you, it’s best to talk to your accountant or tax office directly to find out what you can claim, and what you can’t).
Also, the government introduced a ‘Cycle to Work Scheme’ in 1999 to encourage people to make healthier and environmentally friendly lifestyle choices which is still going strong 10 years later. As an employer you would need to sign up to a provider like Evan’s ‘Ride to Work’ or Halford’s ‘Cycle to Work’ amongst others but your employees (and you, if you are set up as an employee) can save up to 42%, tax and NI free, on a sparkling new bike and all the bells and whistles that go with it. Don’t worry if you aren’t set up as an employee and want to participate, there are ways for you to get involved too!
Interested? To find out more about the ‘Cycle to Work scheme’ and how as an employer you will also reduce your NI contributions, there’s a handy PDF on the GOV.UK website. So ‘get on your bike’ and get to it!
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