Raleigh wins Gold Cycle Friendly Employer Award

Raleigh UK has received a Gold Cycle Friendly Employer award from Cycling UK, due in part to the Nottinghamshire-based business’ scheme to reward employees for each mile they ride to work.

The Cycle Friendly Employer Scheme (CEF-UK) is the only international standard for workplace cycling which allows companies to compare against others through a holistic evaluation of workplace cycling facilities, culture and incentives.

As part of the evaluation process six core areas of Raleigh’s cycling friendliness were assessed including; Information, Communication & Incentives, Coordination & Organisation, Service, Facilities, Parking Management & Customer Traffic, after which the Gold employer certification was awarded.

“We were impressed to see the enthusiasm Raleigh has for supporting their staff to cycle more often, which is very encouraging from one of the country’s best-known bike brands,” said Cycling UK’s Employer Accreditation Manager James Palser. “It was superb to see the workshop where, alongside new bikes being checked before delivery, the workshop team maintains staff bikes, with parts being offered at cost price to employees, an often-overlooked cost of cycle commuting.”

One of the more unique aspects of Raleigh’s commitment to encouraging their employees to take to the saddle is a recently launched employee benefit scheme which offers a financial reward to all employees cycling to work at a rate of 10p per mile. By signing up to the company’s Love to Ride group and tracking their mileage, employees are able to benefit from their riding with the funds paid directly into their pay packet at the end of each month. In addition the company makes a further donation of 5p per mile to Raleigh’s chosen charity partner for the scheme, Trees for Cities, which will plant one tree in an urban area on behalf of the company for every £6 raised. Employees can also opt to donate their 10p to this charity.

Palser added: “Offering a paid incentive to cycle commute is a rarity amongst companies in the UK, Cycling UK welcomes this step and eagerly anticipates the results of the trial.”
Raleigh’s MD Pippa Wibberley said: “As a business we’re committed to actively encouraging our employees to cycle, both for their commute and for leisure, because of the many health and wellbeing benefits this brings, and we’re really pleased to see this culture rewarded with the Gold Cycle Friendly Employer award. Our goal has always been to encourage cycling by removing barriers for our employees which is where our staff discount scheme, loan bikes, incentive scheme and cost price service parts for employees come in.

“Despite these challenging times where a large proportion of our workforce working from home, I’m proud to say that we’ve managed to achieve a total of 1,475 miles in March. Plus, the majority of colleagues have chosen to donate their accrued mileage to Trees for Cities, resulting in over £106 raised so far. This is a fantastic step forwards for our business in working to reduce our carbon footprint and build towards a more sustainable and healthy future.”

Cycling UK’s James Palser said: “Raleigh has shown a very active commitment to improving conditions for cycling, across all levels of staff and users and we’re very pleased to award [the] gold level accreditation.”

The Cycle Friendly Employer certification is valid for a period of three years during which employers are encouraged to maintain and improve upon their commitment to cycle commuting. Raleigh has advised that they have in place a robust calendar of cycling events and colleague-led rides as well as comprehensive incentives to ensure that the business’s cycling culture continues to develop throughout this period.