The head of the UK’s association of independent bike shops says that rising employment costs are threatening a pipeline of part-time staff members entering the bike industry.
Jonathan Harrison, Director of the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT), which represents approximately 4,000 cycling-related businesses, says the government should consider targeted exemptions or support for younger or part-time workers to preserve entry-level roles into the industry.
In April, the government raised the National Living Wage to £12.71 an hour, an increase by 50p on the previous year. The national minimum wage for 18-20 year olds rose by 85p to £10.85, whilst the rate for under 18s and apprentices increased to £8 from £7.55.
The increases were recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission, which advises the government. The government accepted the commission’s proposals in full.
The government has also mandated employers formally record the statutory holiday time and pay entitlements of employers, with companies facing fines for not doing so, Employees are also eligible for statutory sick pay from the day they start employment. These reforms were included as part of the Employment Rights Act which passed into law last year.
In a statement issued via the British Independent Retail Association, Harrison said, “The Saturday lad or lass has been how generations of people fell into the cycle trade. They came in for the love of bikes, learned the ropes, and many of them went on to build careers in the industry.
“That pipeline is now under serious threat.
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“The issue isn’t simply cost in isolation. The job itself has changed. Customers expect expert advice on e-bikes, on fit, on technology. That’s a lot to ask of someone working one day a week, and when the financial risk of employing them has also risen, many shop owners are simply deciding it isn’t worth it.”
ACT also quoted Paul Kenchington, who runs The Bicycle Chain in Bridgwater, Somerset. He said, “In the early days of our business the Saturday lad or lass worked for the experience and the staff discount, with a small wage as the bonus. Some of our best people started that way.
“But the product is now complex, the marketplace is cut-throat, and the cumulative cost of employing someone one day a week has reached the point where many of us are simply stepping back.”
The association has played a role in lobbying for cycling-related policy in the past, having told Parliament in 2024 that the Cycle to Work scheme needed “urgent systemic change”. However, following the government’s decision in the last Budget not to cap the value of bikes eligible through the scheme – purportedly due to a lack of estimated income it would raise – Harrison described the scheme as “a lifeline for thousands of workers who want to swap the car for the bike, and for the independent retailers who help them do it.”
