Green quitting is the new buzzword for HR professionals to get to grips with but its repercussions are significant and potentially damaging to an organisation’s workforce and reputation. Fortunately, and once again, the humble bicycle comes to the rescue.
As buzz words go, climate quitting or green quitting, are relatively new ones to the HR world. But whilst the tag is designed to grab attention, the sentiment behind it is something to be taken seriously.
Ethical values are influencing the employment decisions of almost half of UK office workers. Recent research by KPMG and AMBA has found that an employer’s commitment to ESG values impacts how their employees view the company with some acting with their feet if it fails to align with their own views.
HR leaders should pay close attention to the ESG commitments of their organisation when recruiting and retaining talent. Prospective employees are likely to research environmental credentials and the steps an organisation is taking when considering a job offer. Many will reject an offer if the values don’t align with their own.
Sustainable employee benefits
As employees look to access goods and services to help them make positive lifestyle changes, it presents an opportunity for HR Managers to realign their employee benefits packages. To combat green quitting, HR should consider a range of sustainable staff rewards.
Cycle to Work Scheme
The Cycle to Work Scheme has an important part to play in employee rewards packages, adding variety and sustainability into the mix. By helping employees make active travel choices, this will have a positive impact on the reporting of employee commuting under Scope 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which feeds into Carbon Reduction Plans.
Cycling is big news right now due to the climate, health and financial crises. The expansion of London’s ULEZ and the rolling out of more Low Traffic Neighbourhoods has further encouraged cycling among those who have not considered it before. Commuting to work by bike is on rise and responsible employers should support this choice.
Green Commute Initiative
The Cycle to Work Scheme is a self-funding employee benefit using salary sacrifice to access tax savings. By working with the award-winning Green Commute Initiative (GCI), employees have access to savings of 32-47% on any type of bike, including e-bikes and cargo bikes. There are no “ownership fees” to make a dent in the savings either. The scheme is accessed in two ways:
Instant GCI - a pay-as-you-go scheme which is perfect for SMEs and organisations who wish to use the scheme on an ad-hoc basis. Application turnaround time is 24 to 48 hours.
Corporate GCI - ideal for larger organisations with bespoke requirements and anticipate a high-uptake among employees. Applications are managed via GCI’s online portal and payment terms are available. Once applications are approved, turnaround time is 24 to 48 hours.
GCI’s scheme is HMRC and FCA compliant and their team will advise employees on the most tax-efficient way to use the scheme to ensure maximum possible savings are achieved. Employer savings of 13.8% can be used to cover any costs incurred in the administration of the scheme. However, some employers may wish to further encourage take-up of the scheme by passing on their savings to the employee, thus creating a saving of at least 45%. Through this, employers can further demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, employee wellbeing and talent retention.
Solutions for everyone
The Cycle to Work Scheme uses the salary sacrifice mechanism to make the savings which means employees earning on or near NMW are unable to take part. GCI’s product portfolio includes Everyone Cycle and Green Bike Pool which can help to solve this issue. In addition, bike subscription packages are available which involve a lower cost commitment. The key is to enable all employees to choose smarter, more active ways to commute to work and GCI has a range of solutions to suit different needs.
For more information, visit https://www.greencommuteinitiative.uk/ or contact GCI at [email protected] or call on 020 3740 1836