Employees on a flexible pay scheme – where they can choose their own allowances when remunerated – are increasingly opting for cycling benefits, making it the fifth most popular choice in 2022, according to HR provider SD Worx.
Within a flexible pay plan, employees can pick from a number of extra-legal benefits listed in the cafeteria plan of the company – a salary plan agreed on with the employer, that allows employees to choose a benefits package most suitable for them.
Cycling to work is seeing a massive increase in popularity, having risen from the ninth preferred option in 2019 up to fifth in 2022. Today, 11% of employees are now opting for the benefit. The plan is usually used in Belgium to gain a company car, so the rise in cycling marks an important shift.
Other top choices include pension savings and additional leave – which share first place at 22% – as well as multimedia (14%) as more people are investing in home offices. Driving to work by car comes in fourth with 13% of employees option for it.
However, SD Worx noted that the benefits chosen depend largely on age, with multimedia and extra paid holidays in the work-life balance package more popular among younger generations while reimbursement of individual pension savings, included in the social benefits package, are more popular among older employees.
"With flexible pay plans, as an employer, you give an extra boost to cycling to work. In addition, you are also accelerating the introduction of more variety in your vehicle fleet," explained Amandine Verraghenne, remuneration consultant at SD Worx. "By offering (not imposing) choices as an employer, the employees themselves make a more conscious and sustainable choice."
The number of employees with a cafeteria plan has increased by 59% in 2022, although still only a fraction of employees (5.7%) have access to it, according to SD Worx. The number of employers concerned has increased by 25% as the added value is being noticed, such as attracting talent and giving employees a say in benefits that suit them while staying within the employer's budget.
"[The flexible pay package] is an extra asset to attract talent; young people also seem to really appreciate the benefits," stated Veerle Van Nuffel, Reward and Benefit manager at Deutsche Bank AG in Brussels.
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"Flexible remuneration allows employers to respond to the ever-changing needs of their employees. Next year we will undoubtedly see other choices," stated Sara Flipkens of SD Worx, looking at the evolution of the mobility package which some employers are now adding shared steps, parking, and electric charging stations to.
