How to offer bike leasing at zero cost

Good news: offering bike leasing to your employees doesn’t have to cost your company a dime. With the right setup, you can integrate it into your existing pay structure—without extra budget.

Here are all options: 👇

1. Flexible compensation

Flexible pay is a growing trend—and for good reason. It lets employees trade part of their salary for benefits that better match their lifestyle. Think extra vacation days, tech gadgets… or a brand-new lease bike.

Cafeteria plan (a.k.a. benefits platform )

Flexible compensation often runs through a benefits platform—also known as a cafeteria plan. It’s a system where employees can swap parts of their compensation for perks that suit them better, all within a set of employer-approved options.

The goal? Keep it cost-neutral for the company, while boosting employee happiness.

What parts of the salary can be exchanged?

In most setups, employees can use:

• part of their gross monthly salary
• a year-end bonus
• performance-based bonuses

…to finance their lease bike.

💰 Monthly gross salary swap

Each month, a portion of the gross salary is exchanged for the lease cost.

✅ Condition: the remaining salary must stay above legal or sector minimums.

👎 Heads-up: this can slightly reduce the calculation base for social benefits like vacation pay or end-of-year premiums.

💡 Tip: our calculator takes these effects into account, so you’re not left guessing.

💰 Year-end bonus

Employees can also use their annual bonus to cover bike leasing costs.

✅ Condition: this swap has to be allowed by the applicable sector agreement.

👍 Bonus: no impact on holiday pay.

💰 Performance bonus

Employees with a results-based bonus can choose to lease a bike with that amount.

✅ Condition: the bonus must be eligible for conversion.

Well-known providers of cafeteria plans

There are several providers in Belgium offering cafeteria plans to companies—each with their own focus, tools, and target audience. Here are some of the well-known ones:

• Attentia focuses on well-being and mobility, offering a deeply integrated solution for bike leasing via Joule. Thanks to our close collaboration, the entire process — from simulation to payroll — runs smoothly, reliably, and is almost fully automated. HR teams are fully supported, while employees can easily choose and manage their bike through an intuitive interface.
• Payflip is a digital and accessible platform designed for SMEs and scale-ups, with a strong focus on mobility benefits such as bike leasing.
  🎉 Fun fact: Joule is the preferred partner of Payflip for their ‘Lite’ cafeteria plan. Learn more.
• SD Worx offers a comprehensive benefits platform with a wide range of employee options and strong payroll integration. The tool is particularly suited for organizations with more complex compensation structures.

🎉 Did you know? Joule connects smoothly with most payroll systems thanks to smart API links. See all partners here!

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2. Mobility budget: swap the car, get a bike

If your company offers company cars—or the right to one—you can convert that into a mobility budget.

Employees can then decide how to spend it. Their options usually include:

🚲 Bike leasing or public transit
🚗 A greener, more eco-friendly car
🏡 Housing closer to work
💸 Cash (subject to tax rules)

Want to dig deeper? Check out:

• Our blog post: mobility budget for everyone
• Video interview with Pieter Nobels (PwC)
• The official Belgian government page

3. Net pay swap

If gross salary or bonuses aren’t flexible options, bike leasing can also be paid from the net salary.

✅ Condition: the employee needs to agree to it.

⚠️ Note: this option doesn’t come with the tax advantages of gross salary swaps. The employee pays the full amount without deductions.

So… how much does bike leasing actually cost?

Love the flexibility, but still wondering what it means for your wallet?

👉 Read the blog: How to calculate bike leasing

🎯 Prefer shortcuts? Just try our calculator and see your cost instantly.

From theory to action: let’s get rolling

Cafeteria plans, mobility budgets, salary swaps—it might sound complicated. But with a right partner like Joule, it’s all very doable.

At Joule, we make bike leasing clear, simple and tax-smart—for both employers and employees.

👉 Curious what setup fits your company best? Contact us and let’s talk! 🤗

Need more details first?

Download our free bike leasing guide!