ARRIVA BUS ANNUAL TRAVEL TICKET – WAKEFIELD COUNCIL EMPLOYEE LOAN APPLICATION

**PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW BEFORE APPLYING FOR AN ANNUAL TICKET**

**PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ENCLOSE A PASSPORT SIZE COLOUR PHOTOGRAPH WITH YOUR APPLICATION FORM **

Personal Details Title: Forename: Surname: House No/Name: Street: Town/City: Post Code: Tel No (Daytime): Tel No (Mobile): Email (We will contact you by email once your ticket is ready to collect):

Employment Details Pay Ref: Job Title: Service Area: Work Location:

Ticket Details Please tick which annual ticket you wish to purchase West Yorkshire Ticket Yorkshire Ticket (£476.85) (£534.65)

Declaration  I confirm I have read and understood the information contained in this Employee Loan Application form including the Terms and Conditions.  I agree for deductions to be taken from my salary as detailed above until the loan amount has been paid in full.  Where a replacement card needs to be issued, I agree for the £25 admin fee to be deducted from my salary.  In the event I leave the Council before my loan amount has been repaid, I agree to notify Human Resources at the earliest opportunity of my leaving date.  In such circumstances and where I do not surrender my ticket, I agree for any outstanding balance to be taken from my final salary.  If however, the outstanding balance exceeds my final net pay, I agree to repay the total balance as per invoice procedures. Signature: Print name: Date:

ONCE COMPLETED PLEASE RETURN TO HR DIRECT SUPPORT, ROOM 42, COUNTY HALL, WOOD STREET, WAKEFIELD,WF1 2QW OR EMAIL hrdirect- [email protected] ARRIVA BUS ANNUAL TRAVEL TICKET – GENERAL INFORMATION AND TERMS & CONDITIONS

Introduction As part of the Council’s commitment to encourage the use of public transport and the Travel Plan initiatives, employees can purchase annual bus ticket from Arriva through an interest free loan which is paid back to the Council through salary deduction.

The Council is pleased to confirm they will subsidise 27.75% of the annual ticket price.

By purchasing an Arriva ticket employees will pay less because of the Council’s subsidy.

Use of the ticket is valid either on bus journeys in Yorkshire or West Yorkshire depending on which ticket is purchased. The ticket can be used at any time including evenings and weekends but only on Arriva buses. For timetables visit http://www.arrivabus.co.uk

How it works An employee of the Council can apply for an annual ticket and the Council will purchase it on their behalf. The employee then repays the cost of the ticket back to the Council by monthly deductions from their salary. The annual ticket is for a 12 month period and the deductions from salary would also be taken over 12 months in equal amounts. It is not possible to request a shorter or longer time period.

Eligibility You must be an employee of Wakefield Council in order to apply for a ticket. You must be a permanent employee or an employee on a temporary contract that’s end date is beyond the date of the 12 month annual ticket. Casual or Agency staff are not eligible to apply for a loan. Staff based in Trust or Voluntary Aided Schools and Academies are not employees of the Council and are therefore not eligible to apply.

How do I work out how much a ticket will cost me? There are two ticket options, a Yorkshire Annual or a West Yorkshire Annual ticket. Depending on where you are commuting from will determine which ticket you purchase. The boundaries for each ticket can be found on the related downloads page on the intranet.

How to apply for a bus ticket Complete the WMDC Employee Loan Application form which can be found on the intranet and send it to the travel co-ordinator at [email protected], stating whether you wish to purchase a Yorkshire or West Yorkshire ticket. You must provide a passport sized colour photograph with your application form.

The travel co-ordinator will forward the details onto Arriva who will issue the tickets and send these back to the travel co-ordinator. Once the tickets have been received, you will be contacted (usually by email) to arrange to collect the ticket. Application timescales Applications received by the travel co-ordinator by the 15th of the month will commence deductions from payroll the following month. All tickets will have a start day of the 1st from the following month. For applications received after the 15th it would be a further month until payments commence from payroll.

For example: An application received on the 12th April will commence deductions from May’s payroll and will have a start date of the 1st May. An application received on the 30th April will commence deductions from June’s payroll and have a start date of the 1st June.

Arriva aim to process tickets within 3-5 working days and will send tickets back to the travel co- ordinator by courier. Applicants will then be contacted to arrange to collect their ticket.

Can I specify a different start date instead of the 1st of a calendar month? Yes – if you would like to choose another start date other than the first of the month please specify this when sending in your application. Please ensure that the date you want the ticket to start takes into account the time it takes Arriva to process the ticket and send it back to the travel co-ordinator. Therefore as a rule we suggest allowing at least 10 working days between the date you submit your application and the date you wish the ticket to start. The travel co-ordinator will endeavour wherever possible to process your application with your preferred start date.

Can someone else collect the ticket on my behalf? Tickets need to be collected in person by the individual requesting it. If there are exceptional circumstances where a ticket cannot be collected by you, these will be considered on a case by case basis.

How to repay the loan Payments will be deducted from your monthly salary in 12 equal monthly instalments. By signing the application form you are automatically authorising payroll to action deductions from your salary if your application is approved.

For applications received by the travel co-ordinator by the 15th of the month, salary deductions will commence from payroll the following month.

Please note that the Council subsidy element of your Arriva Bus Annual ticket is subject to ‘benefit in kind’ tax and National Insurance contributions and will result in a tax and National Insurance deduction, via PAYE.

Failure to repay the loan back in full will result in the Council taking action in accordance with the Overpayment and Recovery Policy.

Repayment of the loan will continue even if the ticket is lost or no longer being used. I have a MetroCard but would like to change to an Arriva annual bus travel ticket It is possible to switch to an Arriva Bus ticket, however it may incur a surrender charge based on the outstanding amount due and Metro’s surrender calculations. For more details on this or to surrender your MetroCard please contact [email protected] The MetroCard must be surrendered before applying for an Arriva Bus Annual Travel Ticket.

What happens if you stop working for the Council or no longer require your ticket? In the event that an employee ceases employment with the Council or the bus ticket is no longer required, the employee has two options:

Surrender the ticket: The employee must notify the travel co-ordinator with the reasons as to why they no longer require their ticket confirming the date of surrender. The travel co-ordinator will then contact Arriva and ask for a refund value for the ticket. Refund values are based on the original value of the ticket, the period of use and the value of the remaining time left on the ticket and a proportion of the 27.75% subsidy provided by Wakefield Council. Refunds will be credited to Wakefield Council as they have funded the bus ticket in full.

If you wish to surrender your Arriva ticket please contact the travel co-ordinator as soon as possible. They will then contact Arriva who will confirm any surrender charges due. The ticket will need to be returned to the travel co-ordinator and they will provide a breakdown of outstanding charges if applicable. This will also include the additional 27.75% subsidy on any outstanding balance due. The outstanding balance will be deducted from your next available monthly salary.

Should a refund be agreed by Arriva*, the travel co-ordinator will contact the member of staff to agree a time and date that they can surrender their ticket.

When refunds have been agreed, the travel co-ordinator will notify payroll to stop any further deductions from the employee’s salary. In the event of there not being enough notice given to do this, the employee can still surrender their ticket, and the monies taken will be re-imbursed through the following month’s salary (where possible).

Should an employee agree to surrender their ticket and payment is stopped in their final salary, but they do not surrender their ticket, they will be invoiced for the full amount outstanding on the loan, including the 27.75% subsidy element that would have been paid by the Council.

All tickets surrendered will have to be delivered to the travel co-ordinator in person and signed for to say the Council has received it. A receipt will be given to the employee who has surrendered it for their records.

Should the refund not be granted the employee will have to continue to pay the remaining outstanding balance for their ticket under the same terms and conditions they originally agreed.

*Refunds are authorised at the discretion of Arriva and in accordance with their refund policy. Pay the outstanding balance: If an employee wishes to pay the outstanding balance for their annual ticket in order to keep the ticket after they leave the Council’s employment, it can be arranged through payroll. The remaining loan balance will be deducted from final salary (where possible) and this will include the 27.75% subsidy element that would have been paid by the Council.

In choosing this option the employee can continue to use their ticket until it expires.

Can I change the ticket from a Yorkshire ticket to a West Yorkshire ticket or vice versa? Yes the ticket can be changed. You will need to contact your travel co-ordinator who will contact Arriva to change the ticket. The original ticket will need to be returned and a new one will be re- issued. There is no admin cost to amend a ticket, only the difference in monthly deductions will alter. The ticket will still expire on the same date as the previously issued ticket rather than a whole new 12 month period.

What happens if you lose your ticket? The employee must inform the travel co-ordinator that their ticket has been lost. The travel co- ordinator will then inform Arriva who will issue a new ticket at their discretion. Replacement tickets will be sent by courier to the Council for collection by the employee from the travel co- ordinator. A new passport photo will be required and you must bring this when you collect your replacement ticket.

There is a £25 admin fee for the replacement of a lost ticket payable through the next available monthly salary.

What happens if you damage your ticket? A damaged ticket will need to be sent back to the travel co-ordinator who will then forward this onto Arriva. Once they have received the damaged ticket they will issue a new one and send this back to the travel co-ordinator by courier.

The travel co-ordinator will contact the employee once the new ticket has been issued and returned. There is a £25 replacement fee for damaged tickets which will be deducted from the next available monthly salary.

If a new photo is required then this needs to be supplied to the travel co-ordinator upon collection of your new ticket.

What happens if your ticket is stolen? Employees must notify the travel co-ordinator who will request a replacement ticket from Arriva.

Replacement tickets will be sent to the Council by courier for collection by the employee. If a new photo is required then this needs to be supplied to the travel co-ordinator upon collection of your new ticket. There is a £25 admin fee for the replacement of a stolen ticket payable through the next available monthly salary. Payments not met Should an employee not meet their monthly payments because of, for example, not having sufficient funds in their salary, the Council will invoice the employee for the payment(s) not made.

Failure to pay this invoice may result in legal action being taken.

If you are planning to go on maternity leave please contact your scheme administrator as soon as possible to discuss the options that are available.

Where payments cannot be met through your salary for any reason these will be dealt with on a case by case basis to look at what arrangements can be put in place. Please contact your scheme administrator to discuss this further. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

All employees must agree to the Terms and Conditions for repaying their loan as detailed in this document.

The care of the annual bus ticket is the responsibility of the employee. The Council or Arriva cannot take any responsibility for any losses arising from theft, loss or damage.

Tickets can only be purchased by employees of Wakefield Council primarily to be used for home to work travel.

Tickets can only be collected by the employee who has taken out the loan. Only in exceptional circumstances and following prior approval and agreement in writing can someone collect the ticket on behalf of the ticket holder.

Loans can only be offered to employees who are on fixed term or permanent contracts. If an employee is on a fixed term contract, a loan will only be authorised for a ticket that expires before their contract end date. Casual employees or Agency workers are not eligible to apply for a loan. Staff based in Trust or Voluntary Aided Schools and Academies are not employees of the Council and are therefore not eligible to apply.

We can only offer loans for season tickets that are for a 12 month period.

An employee will not be permitted to have more than one loan or one ticket in any period of twelve months.