A cycling policy is a must-have for anyone who wants to start leasing company bicycles. In a cycling policy you lay down all important agreements between your organisation and the employee who leases the bicycle. Why is a cycling policy so important and how do you draw one up? Read all about it here.
A bike policy is a document where the employer can lay down the agreements for the use of the bicycle by employees. This is important when a company starts leasing bicycles and even more so when the bicycle cost is charged through the salary. The approval of a cycling policy is done in the same way as for the labour regulations. The signature of the individual employees is not required in most cases.
When starting a bike lease it is important to consider the legal side. Elements that have an impact on the salary of the employee should be regulated in an annex to the employment contract. However, you can lay down a lot of things in a cycling policy.
In a cycling policy, you can lay down agreements between you and the employee who uses the company bicycle via leasing or purchase. For example:
No idea what exactly needs to be included in a cycling policy? When you start a cycling plan via Joule, you receive a template that you can adjust to suit your company.
Setting up a cycling policy is important for the implementation of a cycling plan. With these 7 practical tips, you can get started:
Determine who is entitled to a bicycle. Within the framework of anti-discrimination legislation, it is necessary to clearly define the group of entitled parties. The demarcation must be objective and non-discriminatory.
In order to avoid future discussions, you can lay down in the cycling policy what happens in worst-case scenarios. For example:
For example, you can agree to invoice the employee for the shortfall if the budget is insufficient.
If the employee leaves the company during the term of the lease (36 months), there are three options:
As an employer, you are free to expand or limit these possibilities.
Describe the steps the staff member must follow to sign up for a bicycle plan. Also clearly state what the insurance covers and what exemptions apply, whether or not they are fully or partially compensated by the employer. This way, you avoid overflowing HR mailboxes and red-hot telephones.
Your leasing company or bicycle partner will impose some obligations concerning the use of the bicycle. Communicate these rules in the bicycle policy so that the employee is also aware of them. Agreements around usage can be for example:
Mention that the employee must use the bicycle regularly for commuting and check this as well. For example, it is often required that at least 20% of the commuting must be done by bike. Without actual commuting, the bicycle will be taxed.
As with a company car, it is important to mention that fines for traffic violations are charged to the employee.
A bicycle allowance is a mileage allowance that you as an employer give to your staff members who commute to work by bicycle.
Meanwhile, the bicycle allowance is mandatory in many sectors. Even when this is not the case, such an allowance is a fiscally interesting way to encourage employees to live healthier.
As an employer, you decide the amount of the bicycle allowance. The maximum exempted amount (Tax year 2023, income 2022) is €0,25 per kilometre.
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