Cycle Chesterfield promote the Cycling UK Cycle Friendly Employer Assistance Programme.

What is it?

Cycling UK run an accreditation scheme for businesses known as Cycle Friendly Employer. This scheme demonstrates to employees and customers that the business takes seriously its commitment to combating climate change, improving staff well-being and providing alternative transport solutions.

There are 3 possible levels of accreditation and your company will be awarded either a bronze, silver or gold award, dependent upon the scope and scale of your investment in cycle friendly policies, plans and facilities.

Cycle Chesterfield are keen to see local employers recognising the positive impact this scheme could have on employees and on creating local safer, more healthy communities.

Why Become a Cycle Friendly Employer?

Becoming a cycle-friendly employer is a great way for a business to be recognised for improving and encouraging the health and well-being of staff.

Encouraging cycling helps tackle the business costs of congestion, reduces an organisation’s impact on the local and wider environment and even attracts some tax incentives. What’s more, it’s likely that levels of staff absenteeism will drop.

Current commuting patterns cost businesses time and money: staff are delayed because of traffic jams; company car-parking spaces are in short supply and mileage costs are rising.

Cycling, however, is often faster than driving – particularly over short distances and when the roads are busy. It’s easier for cyclists to bypass traffic jams and they don’t need much space at all to park once they arrive at work.

Encouraging employees to cycle to work and for business can result in a healthier, more productive workforce too. It is a known fact that cyclists tend to take fewer days off sick and save a company money.

How the Cycle Friendly Employer Scheme works

Stage 1: You will complete a self-assessment that will create a baseline
for your business to see if you are already at a level that can be graded.
The assessment asks questions in 7 sections:

• Basic Information
• Information, Consultation and Incentives for Employees
• Coordination and Organisation
• Service
• Facilities
• Parking Management (where applicable)
• Customer Traffic (where applicable)

Cycling UK will contact you to inform you of the results of your self-
assessment.

Stage 2: Site Visit – Cycling UK auditors will carry out a virtual audit
against your self-assessment and create a development plan, if needed.
Like most accreditations there is an audit fee related to your number of
employees.

Stage 3: The accreditation level will be confirmed.

How to become cycle-friendly

There are a number of ways in which an employer can become cycle-friendly:

• Communicate regularly with staff about cycling
• Offer a range of tax incentives
• Introduce a ‘green’ travel plan
• Have an office bike, otherwise known as ‘pool’ bike available
• Provide facilities to support cycling to work such as washing,
  changing and drying
• Support a cycling group at work or a BUG – Bicycle User Group
• Provide safe, secure and convenient cycle parking facilities
• Keep more staff cycling to work by holding workplace challenges –
  workplace challenges provide an engaging and successful way of
  promoting and encouraging cycling at your workplace.
• Friendly competition between organisations to encourage more cycle-commuting.
• Taking part in events such Bike Week, Cycle to Work Day, Cycle Festival
• Creating a leader board for various cycling related activities
• Become an accredited Cycle Friendly Employer