:00:00. > :00:00.Wiggins, the Giro d'Italia, and the Tour De France today. On Your Money
:00:00. > :00:00.we are looking at whether cycling to work could make you healthier,
:00:07. > :00:15.wealthier and, if you are wise, you could get your boss to pay for it.
:00:16. > :00:22.Hello and welcome to Your Money, your weekly guide to making the most
:00:23. > :00:27.of our cash. Tour De France, this isn't it, but if it has inspired you
:00:28. > :00:31.to get on your bike, we'll tell you how to get help with the costs.
:00:32. > :00:33.The cost of hay to get on your bike, we'll tell you how to get help with
:00:34. > :00:36.the costs. The cost of hay fever medicine ` do
:00:37. > :00:39.the cheaper drugs work as well as the ones with the fancy packaging?
:00:40. > :00:43.Our reporter sticks her nose into it.
:00:44. > :00:50.And the Norwegians launch low`cost flights from Britain to America. You
:00:51. > :00:56.could say they are taking a leif out of Ryanair's book.
:00:57. > :01:00.So the Tour De France starts in... This weekend. It is working its way
:01:01. > :01:06.through Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire and then London. If it is enough to
:01:07. > :01:11.make you dust down your saddle bag, ring your bell and cycle to work,
:01:12. > :01:25.you could get help with the cost, especially if you have to buy new
:01:26. > :01:28.kit. David is from Sustrans, he's the specially if you have to buy new
:01:29. > :01:31.kit. David is from Sustrans, he's the national `` give us an overview
:01:32. > :01:36.of what the cycle to work scheme is. It is an easy way for the employer
:01:37. > :01:42.and employee to save money. At salary sacrifice scheme. The
:01:43. > :01:46.employer buys the bike, the employee pages the employer back over a
:01:47. > :01:50.period of, say, 12 months. They pay it back before tax is deducted from
:01:51. > :01:54.the salary, so they are saving on that tax essentially. So it is not
:01:55. > :01:59.exactly cost free but it does save you a lot of money. And your boss
:02:00. > :02:02.has to register first, is that right? That's right. Your employer
:02:03. > :02:08.should register for the scheme. It is easy to do. Once they are
:02:09. > :02:14.registered they can, you can select the bike through the cycle to work
:02:15. > :02:20.providers. Do you get to pick the bike or do you have to take whatever
:02:21. > :02:24.jalopy they give you? You get to pick the bike. Which ones are
:02:25. > :02:29.available depends on which provider your employer is signed up with. Do
:02:30. > :02:35.you have to prove that you are going to cycle to work? Do you have to
:02:36. > :02:41.turn up in the office fully clad in revolting lycra or something? The
:02:42. > :02:45.guide lines say you should use the bike for 50%, in terms of commuting,
:02:46. > :02:52.but the employer doesn't have any sort of mandate to go and check what
:02:53. > :02:57.you're doing with that bike. You shouldise for commuting really, at
:02:58. > :03:01.least 50% of the time, but no`one's checking. There are some
:03:02. > :03:04.practicalities aside from the money. If you cycle to work, you've got to
:03:05. > :03:09.have somewhere to lock it up. You will probably want a little bit of a
:03:10. > :03:13.wash before you sit down beside your colleagues, or your colleagues would
:03:14. > :03:16.wish you did. If your employer doesn't provide that, you are stuck
:03:17. > :03:19.aren't you? Not necessarily. In terms of the washing thing, if you
:03:20. > :03:25.are going to cycle seeds, you are going to need a
:03:26. > :03:29.shower before anyone wants to sit beside but. If you cycle at a
:03:30. > :03:35.leisurely speed, and most people's commutes aren't that far, you can go
:03:36. > :03:39.in without getting a good sweat on and sit down just fine. In terms of
:03:40. > :03:45.the lock`in, there's usual lip plenty of places to lock a bike up.
:03:46. > :03:50.Ideally we would want employers to provide those for their employees.
:03:51. > :03:56.Insurance. Do you need it? Is it worth it? Is it good value? It is
:03:57. > :04:00.personal choice. In security terms, it is helpful if you are in an area
:04:01. > :04:06.where there's high bike theft, but ideally the first choice is really a
:04:07. > :04:10.good lock. Buy a good lock, get your bike registered with the police and
:04:11. > :04:14.insurance is a personal choice after that. Scott Davidson
:04:15. > :04:20.thank you. More rights for more people who need
:04:21. > :04:24.a bit of flexitime. Until now, only parents of children under 16 and
:04:25. > :04:31.registered careers had if legal right to ask for flexible working.
:04:32. > :04:37.Now any worker can ask for flexible working and the boss has to reply.
:04:38. > :04:41.As long as they've worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks.
:04:42. > :04:46.Bosses have to look at the request in a considered way. If they say no,
:04:47. > :04:52.they have to tell you why. Workers can make bun flexibility, they have
:04:53. > :04:54.to tell you why. Workers can make bun flexibility request `` one
:04:55. > :04:59.flexibility request each year. Sorry the numbers were out there,
:05:00. > :05:03.but you followed the gist of it. More than 20 million of us have hay
:05:04. > :05:10.fever, so we spend millions a year to control it. Could we do it for
:05:11. > :05:17.less? Chloe Hayward... Bless you! This year it's been particularly
:05:18. > :05:23.bad. For Jamie, summertime means one thing: Hay fever season. He controls
:05:24. > :05:29.his symptoms but taking over the counter antihistamines. I take one a
:05:30. > :05:33.day and again in the evening. But taking such regular medication is
:05:34. > :05:38.expense sieve. Including tablets and eye drops I spend about ?4 a week. I
:05:39. > :05:41.probably go for a branded product, mainly because of the marketing. You
:05:42. > :05:46.probably think they are better than the value pack that's you can pick
:05:47. > :05:54.up. But are the branded products really better than their unbranded
:05:55. > :06:00.generic alternative's. In the UK most hay favour medicines contain
:06:01. > :06:05.one of two ingredients. If the patient has the same active
:06:06. > :06:10.ingredient at the same dose at the same formulation it is very unlikely
:06:11. > :06:15.the patient will experience a difference between the branded and
:06:16. > :06:22.unbranded formulations. I have several different packs of hay fever
:06:23. > :06:29.med sent. These both have the active ingredient of Cetirizine. The
:06:30. > :06:33.unbranded is just 99p. Other here another three weeks with the same
:06:34. > :06:43.active ingredient. The branded one will take you ?3.49 at Boots. Their
:06:44. > :06:47.own brand, ?2.99 and the value unbranded one, 99p. The final two,
:06:48. > :06:52.not only do they have the same active ingredient but the some
:06:53. > :06:57.formulation. Two pills are totally identical but the price difference
:06:58. > :07:05.is ?2. The wonderful thing in the UK is because our medicines are closely
:07:06. > :07:11.regulated, we can be confident that if it says it has extra ingredient,
:07:12. > :07:14.it will. Most of the treatments are readily available over the counter.
:07:15. > :07:19.You don't have to have a prescription. If you are entitled to
:07:20. > :07:25.a free prescription, you may want one, but for those paying a fee, it
:07:26. > :07:30.is cheaper to buy the med situation. With hay fever season in full swing,
:07:31. > :07:37.could this change the way Jamie controls his symptoms? I will
:07:38. > :07:44.definitely definitely consider these in the future.
:07:45. > :07:49.A little birdie at Boots tellses me it has stopped making the cheaper
:07:50. > :07:53.99p tablets but they will remain on the shelves until they run out.
:07:54. > :07:58.If you have just moved home, have you told your bank or credit card
:07:59. > :08:10.company your new address? If not, you could be at risk of someone
:08:11. > :08:13.stealing your details. Another 10,000700 companies are
:08:14. > :08:17.under orders to sign up some of their workers for the automatic
:08:18. > :08:22.state pension from this week. That's where some money is taken from our
:08:23. > :08:31.pay packets and put into a personal pension account. Bosses chip in as
:08:32. > :08:34.well. Workers should have had a letter about it. If you haven't, you
:08:35. > :08:38.need to talk to the payroll department.
:08:39. > :08:44.Here's a quick way to lose pounds at the gym. Sign up, pay up and don't
:08:45. > :08:53.go. The website money supermarket says we waste ?13.7 billion a year
:08:54. > :09:03.on direct debits we forget about. That's ?7 a month. It says we should
:09:04. > :09:08.spend five minute each month checking our bank statements and
:09:09. > :09:12.identifying any mysterious payments. Just in time for summer. Low`cost
:09:13. > :09:17.flights are back between Britain and the United States. This time they
:09:18. > :09:24.are being done by the budget airline Norwegian. Our low`coast flights
:09:25. > :09:27.really that cheap once you have added in the extras? Wegian. Our
:09:28. > :09:33.low`coast flights really that cheap once you have added in the extras?
:09:34. > :09:41.`` low`cost flights. Flights. 30 years ago Britain's Sir Freddie
:09:42. > :09:46.Laker's no`frilled Sky Train was branded by sky`high oil prices.
:09:47. > :09:51.These are the first flights across the Atlantic by a budget airline for
:09:52. > :09:57.more than 30 years. You can see why people are excited here at Gatwick
:09:58. > :10:01.Airport. But the reality is that those cheapest fares have long gone
:10:02. > :10:05.for this summer, so if you want to fly across the Atlantic cheaply you
:10:06. > :10:10.have to wait this will the dark days next February. The its chief says
:10:11. > :10:14.the new generation of jets like the 787 Dreamliner changed the
:10:15. > :10:18.economics. Norwegian's new Dreamliner will serve three US
:10:19. > :10:22.destinations and, if it is profitable, more low cost airlines
:10:23. > :10:31.may enter the fray, if they can get hold of the right planes.
:10:32. > :10:35.Let's hear from Bob Atkinson. Some of the best fares on that airline
:10:36. > :10:40.have gone already. You've got be really quick to snap up those
:10:41. > :10:44.bargains. You needed to with Norwegian. They are advertising
:10:45. > :10:49.their leading fares from ?179 one way. When I trawled their website
:10:50. > :10:54.this weeks I couldn't find any fares available at their lead`in prices.
:10:55. > :11:00.When you do price searchs you are finding out that for July, August,
:11:01. > :11:05.September, there may be only ?75 cheaper than other non`stop direct
:11:06. > :11:11.airlines from London Heathrow, where you've got lots more choice. Choice.
:11:12. > :11:17.And their prices do not include a bag, on board food or a seat res
:11:18. > :11:21.vision. You have to pay extra. So is low cost really low cost? By the
:11:22. > :11:25.time you add in the extra charges it looks more expensive than it first
:11:26. > :11:31.did. Definitely. Norwegian, to be fair to them, they do give you WiFi
:11:32. > :11:35.free on board. That's a nifty thing. The I think Norwegian are a great
:11:36. > :11:41.airline. I've flown with them a few times. However, getting your meal
:11:42. > :11:46.and a seat reservation, they are doing a package at ?70 return. But
:11:47. > :11:52.add that on and they are not that much cheaper than the lights of
:11:53. > :11:56.British Airways, united, Virgin, American et cetera. It is important
:11:57. > :11:59.that you compare not just the airlines and availability from
:12:00. > :12:03.Gatwick Airport and Heathrow Airport but make sure you are comparing
:12:04. > :12:09.like`for`like. I was wondering, does that apply to every low cost airline
:12:10. > :12:13.when you look at their extra charges? Are they as cheap as they
:12:14. > :12:19.we they are? We think back to the days when we could get a flight for
:12:20. > :12:28.99p each way. Ryanair were doing that only five, I six or sitting
:12:29. > :12:31.years ago. But after the crash in 200 ght for 99p each way. Ryanair
:12:32. > :12:34.were doing that only five, I six or sitting years ago. But after the
:12:35. > :12:37.crash in 200 a 8 `` 2008 and the cost of oil, the low cost carriers,
:12:38. > :12:43.wool they do have attractive low fares, you generally have to travel
:12:44. > :12:47.midweek. And you need to travel hand luggage only and not bother with
:12:48. > :12:52.on`board food to get the low prices. Travel at peak times such as the
:12:53. > :12:56.school holidays and low`cost carriers will often be more
:12:57. > :13:00.expensive than the scheduled carriers like BA British Airways
:13:01. > :13:05.have fought back in this market. They have hand`luggage only fares
:13:06. > :13:10.for Europe. You still get their on`board food and drink but with a
:13:11. > :13:16.handy and generous hand luggage allowance you can often get a BA
:13:17. > :13:21.flight out of Heathrow for less than you would with Ryan jet and Ryanair.
:13:22. > :13:27.What's cheap? If you can travel in the next three to four weeks, there
:13:28. > :13:31.are dust counts galore on traditional package holidays. The
:13:32. > :13:37.big travel companies like Thomson and Thomas Cook they've got
:13:38. > :13:42.discounts of up to 75% off brochure price. These are to places like
:13:43. > :13:49.Greece on a self catering basis. You can get a week in Greece in the next
:13:50. > :13:56.week from ?140 room only. A bargain. If you want all inclusive, you can
:13:57. > :14:03.get deals from ?50 to ?400 to Morocco, the Canaries. Packages at
:14:04. > :14:07.the moment are fantastic value for last minute peer. If it is the
:14:08. > :14:11.destinations that you are looking to, the cheapest when you are there,
:14:12. > :14:15.the Bulgaria, the Black Sea resorts. Places like Spain and Portugal,
:14:16. > :14:21.which are fantastically cheap at the moment. Restaurateurs over there are
:14:22. > :14:26.fighting to win back their lost domestic market by attracting fewer
:14:27. > :14:32.than tourists with cheap deals and bars. Cyprus, and Florida. The US in
:14:33. > :14:38.general. The dollar, your pound goes a long way there. I'm happy for you
:14:39. > :14:42.to keep talking while I book a holiday but we need to bring it to
:14:43. > :14:45.an end. Thank you. You with keep up to date with the
:14:46. > :15:21.money pages on the BBC News website. This is BBC News. The headlines:
:15:22. > :15:23.Yorkshire plays host to the world's greatest cycle race, the Tour de
:15:24. > :15:24.France.