Since January '23, Harmony has offered its Belgian employees something new in their salary package: the mobility budget. We would like to explain what it is and why we at Harmony chose to offer it as a fringe benefit.
Putting together your own salary package
As an employer, we want to give our employees the flexibility to put together their own salary package based on their personal needs.
We were already doing this with the flexible income plan. We introduced the Flexible Income Plan back in 2016, as one of the forerunners. It lets colleagues exchange part of their end-of-year bonus for other (tax-efficient) benefits, such as extra days off, a lease bike, pension savings or extra insurance. By now 90% of Harmony's Belgian employees use the Flexible Income Plan. That is what we call a success.
But we keep looking for new ways to offer more flexibility. This year we took another good step by letting our employees choose their own mobility solution. That way every Harmonian can adapt their approach to mobility to their own preferences and life. By not giving everyone a company car as standard, and offering sustainable mobility solutions as well, we also contribute to lower CO₂ emissions. This fits perfectly with our vision and policy on corporate social responsibility.
What is the mobility budget?
The mobility budget is a budget you receive as an employee to spend on alternative mobility solutions in exchange for giving up your company car. A special scheme was created for it in tax, social security and employment law.
You receive a budget that you can spend on 3 possible pillars: 1) an environmentally friendly, smaller car; 2) sustainable mobility solutions (alternative means of transport or even housing costs) and/or 3) the remaining balance in cash. Employees are responsible for arranging their own mobility based on these 3 pillars. They can buy things themselves (such as a train season ticket, a car-sharing subscription, an electric bike...) and have them reimbursed from their mobility budget. Through the online platform Mbrella they can easily keep track of how their budget is spent.
In the Netherlands, too, we keep looking for interesting benefits and sustainable mobility solutions.
Why do employees choose the mobility budget?
Several employees have already made the switch to the mobility budget. We are curious to see which employees will follow in the future, now that we are all putting more emphasis on environmentally friendly and sustainable mobility.
For Myriam, choosing the mobility budget was a no-brainer. She explains why:
"I chose the mobility budget because having a car isn't practical in my personal situation. I live in the centre of Brussels and see so many traffic jams, few parking spaces and, above all, pollution. Besides, it takes me longer by car than on foot or by bike. A nice advantage of the mobility budget is of course the financial compensation you get in exchange for giving up your company car. If I need a car, I can still rent one for a day, while part of the mobility budget is always left over to pay off part of the mortgage on my home. After all, if you often work from home, you don't need to travel as much. It's a win-win-win!"
Elise made the switch too and is happy to explain why:
"I chose the mobility budget because I can cycle to work, so I don't really need a company car. With the mobility budget I can now have the rent for my home reimbursed, and I think that's great! If I do need a car, I share one with my mum. Ideal!"
Would you like to work as a Harmonian too? Then take a look at our vacancies here.
