How do you manage flexible mobility for hybrid employees?

Working from home on Monday, taking the train on Tuesday and cycling to the office on Thursday. For hybrid employees, getting to work looks different from one day to the next.

How do you give people that flexibility without creating a separate admin process for everyone?

With a platform like Mbrella, employers decide which mobility options employees can access. Employees record their journeys and expenses, while HR keeps track of budgets and reimbursements. A clear mobility policy sets the rules.

Which mobility options can you offer hybrid employees?

You can offer cycling allowances, public transport and mobility budgets, among other options. The right combination depends on your policy, employees’ entitlements and the applicable legal requirements.

Offering flexible mobility does not mean everyone automatically receives a statutory mobility budget. It helps to distinguish between three arrangements:

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A flexible company budget does not automatically receive the same tax treatment as the statutory Belgian mobility budget. Adding an expense to a platform does not make it tax-free.

You can also offer commuting reimbursements without introducing the statutory mobility budget. Flexible mobility can therefore work for employees who are not entitled to a company car.

How do you assign mobility budgets and benefits in Mbrella?

First, establish which employees qualify under your policy, the applicable legislation and any sectoral rules. Then translate those arrangements into budgets, benefits and settings in the platform.

Decide upfront:

• who qualifies for each arrangement;
• which expenses and transport options you offer;
• which amounts or limits apply;
• what supporting documents employees need;
• who approves expenses and by when.

In Mbrella, you can organise employees with the same entitlements into user groups. Assign budgets and benefits to the group instead of setting everything up individually. Changes to a group budget or benefit can then apply automatically to its members.

The platform puts your policy into practice. It does not determine whether someone is legally entitled to a benefit or whether that benefit is tax-free.

Planning to introduce the statutory mobility budget? Our implementation guide for employers walks you through the preparation.

How do employees record commutes and days working from home?

Employees can use Mbrella’s commute planner to record office journeys, transport choices, homeworking days and holidays.

That helps when plans change. Someone might stay home on a planned office day or take the train instead of cycling.

Depending on the configuration, Mbrella can automatically remove commuting entries on registered homeworking days and holidays. This helps prevent journey-based allowances being paid for trips that did not happen.

The platform supports the registration process. Whether an allowance is due still depends on the applicable rules.

What does that look like in practice?

Emma works full-time, with three days at home and two in the office.

• On Tuesday, she cycles to work and records her journey.
• On Thursday, she takes the train and submits her ticket under the company’s reimbursement policy.
• On days when she works entirely from home and does not travel to a workplace, she records no commute.

Emma’s reimbursements depend on the arrangement that applies to her. A homeworking allowance, if offered, is a separate benefit from a commuting allowance.

Does working from home mean a lower mobility budget?

Not automatically. Working from home changes the number of journeys someone makes. It does not, by itself, mean they work fewer hours or lose part of their budget.

An employee who works full-time, including three days from home, is still a full-time employee. Do not reduce their budget simply because they spend fewer days in the office.

Different benefits work differently:

• A cycling allowance follows eligible kilometres actually cycled between home and work.
• Train tickets and subscriptions follow the applicable reimbursement rules.
• A bike lease follows the contractual arrangements.
• The statutory mobility budget follows the legal rules and applicable policy.

Fewer cycling trips may mean a lower cycling allowance. A bike lease does not automatically become cheaper because the employee works from home more often.

Homeworking can also affect whether housing expenses qualify under pillar 2 of the statutory mobility budget. That is a question about eligible spending, rather than an automatic reduction in the budget itself.

Can you pay a cycling allowance or train subscription on top of the mobility budget?

That depends on the type of budget and the applicable conditions. A platform setting alone cannot make an extra benefit tax-free.

For a flexible company budget, assess the company arrangement and the tax rules for the expense concerned.

With the statutory mobility budget, tax-exempt commuting allowances or benefits cannot simply be added on top. A specific legal exception must apply.

One exception concerns employees who already combined the same exempt benefit with a company car, or entitlement to one, for at least three months immediately before applying for the statutory mobility budget.

Without an applicable exception, a commuting benefit provided outside the statutory budget may lose its specific tax and social security exemptions and be treated as remuneration.

Ask payroll to confirm whether the benefit must be charged within the statutory mobility budget or whether a legal exception allows it to be provided separately while retaining its exempt treatment. Then document and configure that treatment accordingly.

Can employees use the mobility budget for rent or mortgage repayments when working from home?

Yes, under certain conditions, through pillar 2 of the statutory mobility budget, provided the employer offers this spending option.

Eligible housing expenses can include:

• rent;
• mortgage interest;
• mortgage principal repayments.

Other costs, such as insurance, utilities or mortgage-related fees, do not automatically qualify. Nor does an ordinary flexible company budget provide the same tax-free housing option.

The home must, among other conditions, be within a 10-kilometre radius of the normal place of work, measured as the crow flies. When an employee mainly works from home, their home may qualify as their normal place of work, provided the employer can substantiate the actual working arrangements.

Assess the situation per calendar month, using actual working hours rather than simply counting days. Where several workplaces are involved, check where the employee performed most of their working hours and apply the official rules to those locations.

Keep supporting records, such as homeworking agreements, work schedules and calendar entries. The assessment must be defensible if reviewed by the authorities.

For example, an employee may usually work from home three days a week but spend most of their working hours at the office during a particular month. Check whether their housing expenses still qualify for that month.

Read more in the Mbrella Help Center guide to eligible housing expenses.

How do employees and HR keep track of budgets and reimbursements?

Through the Mbrella app, employees can record commutes, submit supporting documents and check their remaining budget.

HR reviews registrations and expenses, handles exceptions and provides payroll with the information needed under the company’s processing arrangements.

Set a few practical ground rules:

• When must journeys and expenses be submitted?
• Who checks missing or incorrect information?
• Who answers employees’ questions?
• When should entitlements and settings be reviewed?

Revisit the setup when someone moves home, changes role or starts spending more time in the office. This helps keep the arrangements aligned with how they actually work.

Flexible mobility starts with clear arrangements

Hybrid employees do not need the same mobility options every day. A suitable offer and accurate registrations give them choice while helping HR stay in control.

With Mbrella, you manage mobility budgets and expenses in one platform. Your policy sets the rules, and the platform helps you apply them day to day.

Want to see how it could work for your team? Book a demo.