15-12-2022

Contribute to mobility and vitality with lease bike

Contribute to mobility and vitality with lease bike

Together with VONK, University of Twente, Municipality of Enschede and the real estate owners and entrepreneurs, we are committed to making Kennispark the top work location.

New mobility concepts are an important building block for our area transformation. In this way we keep Kennispark easily accessible and provide space for a pleasant and green environment. Promoting cycling is one of the most important solutions here. It is sustainable, prevents parking pressure and contributes to the vitality of employees. One of the joint initiatives to stimulate this is participation in Lease a bike, with extra collective benefits for VONK members.

ENTHUSIASTIC FIRST PARTICIPANTS AT KNOWLEDGE PARK

LioniX International B.V. is one of the first VONK members to participate in Lease a bike, and the enthusiasm among employees was immediate. Erwin Bomert, controller at LioniX International B.V. explains why they are participating: “Our employees used to be able to make use of the bicycle plan, but with the arrival of the work-related costs scheme (WKR) this has become a lot more difficult. You can still spend part of the salary on untaxed allowances for employees, but you have to do everything from Christmas hampers to staff parties directly from this. As a result, there is often no more room for untaxed reimbursement of, for example, a bicycle for several employees. There is also a big risk involved: on everything you compensate above the amount in your WKR-pot (the so-called free space), you immediately pay 80% tax. The money in the WKR pot is closely guarded and a bike suddenly became for us – as for many other companies – a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘need to have’.”

BENEFITS LEASE A BIKE FOR ENTREPRENEURS

The bicycle is one of the most requested fringe benefits in the Netherlands, and Lease a bike makes it possible for all companies at Kennispark to be able to meet this demand again. Leasing a bike for your employees is 25% to 80% cheaper than buying one privately. The lease bike costs you nothing as an employer and falls outside the WKR. The lease amount is deducted monthly from the gross salary. As an employer you pay less social charges during the lease period of 36 months. This amounts to 15-20% of the lease amount. Furthermore, cycling keeps your employees healthy and reduces sick leave by up to 25%.

AFTER APPROVAL THE SAME DAY A NEW BIKE

Erwin: “In mid-October, together with Engineero – also a VONK member – we organized a bike get-up-day to inform our staff about the possibilities of Lease a bike. We employ 58 people and 35 of them attended the step-up day. A day after we opened up the sign-up system, I already had six employees agree to pick up their desired lease bike. They were given a code that allowed them to go to the bike dealer and bike right out the door with their desired bike. I expect we will eventually be able to get 20 to 25 employees on bikes this way.”

LESS COMMUTING ALLOWANCE BUT HIGHER EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION

“One of the first colleagues (with his new bike in the photo) who wanted to participate went from Almelo every day by train and a folding bike to our office in The Gallery. With his new lease bike, he takes just as long, but has a lot more exercise every day. Because of the purchase of the lease bike, part of the commuting allowance has to be surrendered. However, we at LioniX International have chosen to compensate for this with a generous employer contribution, making the lease amount per month net a little bit lower still.”

Erwin: “I think it’s important that this action is widely promoted and that the penny also drops with the other companies at Kennispark that this is a wonderful tool to get your employees on their bikes. In principle it does not cost you any money as an entrepreneur and you only have to make one extra effort in the salary administration to settle the lease amount, but then you don’t have to worry about it for three years. So it costs you nothing and you do make a very important contribution to mobility and vitality!”

SPECIAL OFFER FOR VONK MEMBERS

The mobility committee of VONK is working on the accessibility of Kennispark that fits within the objective of becoming a green innovation campus. This includes an integral mobility solution. Parking at the edges, good facilities for the last mile, a good infrastructure for slow traffic and thus also stimulating cycling as an alternative for commuting.

If you, as a company, register with Lease a bike this year, the first 10 participants will receive a voucher of € 50, which can be turned in at Ten Tusscher for bicycle accessories.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LEASE A BIKE

Would you like to know more about Lease a bike and what possibilities there are for your company? Then please contact Jan-Paul Röben, +31 6 12 89 54 37 or via jan-paul@lease-a-bike.nl.

Contact

PO Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
info@kennispark.nl

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Hengelosestraat 500
7521 AN Enschede
info@kennispark.nl

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