Mobility: what contribution are my employees entitled to?

On 1 February 2024, the price of an SNCB railcard will increase by 5.9%. In addition, the bicycle allowance amounts will also change. How will this affect your obligation to intervene in transportation costs?

Collective bargaining agreement No. 19/9: a minimum obligation

The employer’s financial contribution to the price of the employees’ commuting journeys is provided for by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) No. 19/9 which was concluded in 2009. The employers are obliged to pay a contribution when their employees use the train and/or any other means of public transport for their commuting travel.

CBA No. 19/9 has drawn up a schedule of lump sums which determines the employer 's contribution. This schedule applies according to the distance travelled.

In 2019, these amounts corresponded to an average of 70% of the railcard's cost price. They remain unchanged.

Priority sectoral obligations

This agreement of the National Labour Council is supplementary, this means it establishes a minimum obligation. The majority of the sectors has concluded CBAs laying down more far-reaching requirements for the employers: higher amounts, contribution for the use of a private vehicle, bicycle allowance ...

For the sectors referring to the amounts of CBA No.19/9, the contribution remains unchanged on 1 February 2024.

However, other sectors directly refer to the amounts of the railcard. In view of the increase of the fares, the amounts granted to the employees in these joint committees will go up on 1 February 2024. This is particularly the case for all employees who benefit from a third-party payer agreement (the employer pays a contribution of 80% of the price of the railcard, the state pays the remaining 20%). 

Increase of bicycle allowance

In 2024, the bicycle allowance will increase for many employees. On the one hand, the maximum tax-free bicycle allowance will increase from €0.27 to €0.35 per km travelled in 2024, with a new annual ceiling of €2,500. Read our tax news infoflash for more information. Some sectors have stipulated that they grant the maximum tax-free amount to employees who bike to work. So these employees will see their compensation rise sharply at the beginning of the year.

On the other hand, the amount of the bicycle allowance determined by CBA No. 164 is indexed and will increase from €0.27 to €0.28 per km (with a maximum of 20 km round trip) in 2024. So, companies covered by this collective bargaining agreement are seeing an increase in the amount of bicycle compensation. Read more about CBA No. 164 in this infoflash.

In addition, many sectors have increased the amount of bicycle allowance as part of sectoral negotiations.

The transport costs within my sector

Please refer to the sector documentation for detailed information on the applicable amounts for each joint committee. This documentation indicates the contribution in transport costs per means of transport used, regardless of whether this is based on the CBA No. 19/9, the amounts of the railcard or a sector-own scale.

Source: CBA No.19/9 of 23 April 2019 with regard to the employer’s financial contribution to the price of the employees’ commuting journeys (reg. No. 151.392 - RD 28.04.2019 - Belgian Official Gazette 08.05.2019).