CBA no. 164 - bicycle allowance for all private sector employees in the near future

On 24 January, the social partners concluded a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) no. 164 regarding the bicycle allowance for commuting. This CBA provides that all private sector employees who cycle to work will be entitled to a bicycle allowance from 1 May 2023.

What is stipulated in CBA no. 164?

The CBA provides for a bicycle allowance for commuting of € 0.27 per kilometre. This amount will be indexed annually. This allowance is exempt from social security contributions and taxes.

The allowance is not granted without limits. Specifically, the employer only grants the allowance for a maximum of 40 kilometres per day (20 km per single journey).

To be entitled to the bicycle allowance, the employee must use the bicycle regularly for commuting (e.g. at least once a week).

If the employee uses different modes of transport, including the bicycle, for commuting, he/she may receive an allowance from the employer for each of these modes of transport, provided that those different allowances relate:

• either to different parts of the journey from home to work;
• either to the same journey (or the same part of it) made during different periods of the year.

Thus, the same distance travelled at the same time cannot be reimbursed more than once by the employer. Therefore, the employee must always choose the most appropriate means of transport for his/her situation.

Finally, the employee must also complete and sign a declaration of honour. In this declaration, he/she must indicate the number of kilometres he/she travels by bicycle between the place of residence and the place of work, as well as the number of days in the month he/she cycles to work.

CBA of a supplementary nature

This CBA applies to private sector employers and employees and is of a supplementary nature.

If an amount is already provided for by CBA at sector or company level for commuting by bicycle, that amount will remain applicable, even if it is lower than the amount provided for in CBA no. 164.

When will this CBA enter into force?

This CBA will enter into force on 1 May 2023 for an indefinite period.

Joint committees set up for the first time since 1 January 2020 will only have to grant this allowance from 1 January 2024.

This CBA will be evaluated in the second half of 2024.

Source: CBA no. 164 of 24 January 2023