What happens to the mobility budget when an employee leaves? An HR checklist

An employee hands in their notice. They still have money in their mobility budget, their bike lease is running and a few expenses are waiting for approval.

What gets paid out? What if they’ve already spent too much? And what happens to the lease?

Closing the account is only part of the job. You also need to recalculate the budget, process outstanding expenses and sort out ongoing contracts. Here’s how to handle it.

This checklist covers the statutory Belgian mobility budget, governed by the Act of 17 March 2019. Company budgets, cafeteria plans and bike leases outside this scheme may follow different rules.

The checklist reflects the rules currently in force (october 2026)

1. Get the end date right

The employee’s last day in the office isn’t always the day their mobility budget ends.

During a notice period, the employment contract continues. That also applies when the employee is released from their duties: this alone doesn’t change the contract’s end date. With immediate termination and payment in lieu of notice, the contract ends straight away.

Check the applicable arrangements and confirm the budget’s end date with payroll.

Keep three dates separate: the last working day, the last day of mobility budget entitlement and the deadline for returning a car, bike or other equipment.

2. Recalculate the annual budget

An employee who leaves halfway through the year doesn’t keep the full annual budget.

The mobility budget is allocated per calendar year. When someone leaves, recalculate it based on the number of calendar days they participated in the scheme that year.

Example

An employee has an annual mobility budget of €9,000. It starts on 1 January and ends on 30 April, including that day.

In a year with 365 days, that’s 120 calendar days:

€9,000 × 120 / 365 = €2,958.90

This assumes there were no other changes affecting the budget during that period.

Use this adjusted amount as the basis for the final settlement, then deduct the eligible costs. In a leap year, count the days accordingly and use 366 as the denominator.

3. Process outstanding expenses

Before settling the balance, check what still needs to go through.

Look at:

• expenses waiting for approval;
• mobility card payments;
• recurring housing expenses;
• company car costs under pillar 1;
• bike lease invoices and ongoing subscriptions.

Timing matters too. For costs relating to the use of transport, the official FAQ uses the date the supplier is paid. That isn’t necessarily the travel date or the invoice date.

So don’t automatically charge an invoice paid after the end date to the employee’s closed budget. Check the applicable rules and contracts first. Review housing expenses separately.

Give the employee a clear deadline to submit missing documents, and stop or adjust recurring payments before they create more admin.

4. Pay out any remaining balance through pillar 3

Once you’ve recalculated the budget and deducted eligible spending under pillars 1 and 2, there may still be money left.

That balance is settled through pillar 3. When an employee leaves, you can pay it out early, after deducting the special employee social security contribution of 38.07%.

This is a social security contribution, rather than ordinary payroll withholding tax.

Agree on the payment date with payroll and give the employee a simple breakdown: adjusted budget, expenses, remaining balance and contribution.

5. Check whether the employee has overspent

Recalculating the budget can reveal a shortfall. An employee might have bought a bike in February, for example, then decided to leave in April.

If you ask them to repay the excess, provide a detailed calculation. According to the official FAQ, repayment must happen within 30 days of the employer’s request.

Don’t automatically take the amount from their final salary. Let payroll or an employment law adviser check whether a deduction is allowed and how to process it.

If the company waives repayment, the waived amount becomes a taxable benefit in kind and must be reported on the employee’s tax form.

Raise any expected shortfall as soon as you know the departure date. It’s easier to discuss while there’s still time to review the numbers.

6. Sort out leases and subscriptions

The mobility budget may end, but a lease agreement can keep running.

Check the lease contract, the employee’s user agreement, your mobility budget policy and any supplier arrangements.

For each ongoing contract, establish:

• whether it will end, continue or be transferred;
• whether the employee must return the bike or car;
• whether termination or transfer fees apply;
• who pays those fees under the valid agreements.

The employee or their new employer may be able to take over a lease, but this depends on the contract and the parties involved.

Keep the contract and the budget separate. The employee must stop making new payments through the mobility budget when their entitlement ends. Your company may still owe payments to the supplier.

Set out these departure rules before you need them. Our guide to implementing the mobility budget helps you put the right arrangements in place.

7. Check any payment in lieu of notice

The final budget settlement and payment in lieu of notice are two separate calculations.

If payment in lieu of notice is due, ask payroll to check whether and how the mobility budget’s actual value should be included. The starting point is the same treatment as private use of a company car under the applicable car arrangements.

What matters is the value of the allocated budget, rather than the amount left in the account or the benefits the employee chose.

Leave the calculation to payroll or your employment law adviser.

8. Stop new spending and share the final overview

On the end date, block new spending through the mobility budget. Keep the administrative access HR and payroll need to process outstanding expenses, complete the settlement and follow up on repayments.

Then send the employee one clear overview with:

• the end date and recalculated budget;
• the expenses deducted;
• the amount they’ll receive or need to repay;
• the arrangements for contracts and equipment;
• who to contact with questions.

This gives the employee a clear answer and keeps the paperwork in order.

Make departures easier with clear rules

Who covers a shortfall? Can an employee take over their bike lease? When do they need to submit their last expenses?

Agreeing on these things upfront makes the final settlement much easier for everyone.

With Mbrella, you manage mobility budgets and expenses in one place. Your HR team has the budget details and expense records at hand when it’s time to close things out.

Want to see it in action? Book a demo.