Bike to work
Commuting to work by bike has many benefits: not only do you avoid traffic jams, but you can make a big improvement in health and wellness. Additional benefits include the environmental gain from reducing CO2 emissions.
Umicore offers its Belgian employees a bike leasing program. This gives them the opportunity to lease the bike of their choice with an option to buy it afterwards. Evelien Nys, one of our Compensation and Benefits Managers, explains what the program entails: “The bike leasing program enables employees to lease a high-quality electric, high-speed or non-electric bicycle. The leasing period is 3 years, and during this time you are also covered by an accident and theft insurance, including roadside assistance in Benelux. Annual maintenance is also included in the leasing contract. Today a total of 996 Umicore Belgium employees are leasing a bike through our programme, representing 30% of our Belgian employees.”
The program promotes the use of bikes as the employee’s main means of transportation, with the possibility to combine it with public transport. The policy requires that employees commute by bike at least 10% of the year. This means you can bike to work in the spring and summer and use other means of transportation on wet and cold autumn and winter days.
Taking the bike to work doesn’t always mean you need to live close by the office, added Evelien: “The bike is great for difficult commuting routes where there is a lot of traffic jams. We have this in place to improve mobility and bring people to work in a more effective and healthier way since the commute becomes part of the employee’s daily exercise.” Employees who live a bit further away from work can also choose for a regular electric bike (with electric pedal assistance up to 25 km/h) or a high-speed electric bike (with electric pedal assistance up to 45 km/h).
Safety is a big priority for us at Umicore, which is why we launch information campaigns or training sessions about how to keep your bike in excellent condition, what the traffic rules are when you are riding the bicycle in the streets and tips on how to ride safely on the road. The use of a helmet is of course mandatory for high-speed bikes, and strongly advised for any kind of bike.