The University of Eastern Finland is offering a tax-free bike benefit to its employees starting from Spring 2022. By supporting commuting by bike the university wants to encourage employees to make more sustainable choices and to take care of their wellbeing.
– Commuting by bike is a good deed both for you and the environment. Adding more exercise to your daily routine improves physical health and is also good for mental wellbeing. And the environment will also be thankful for zero emission travel, Jenni Varis, Director of Personnel at the UEF, highlights.
The employee’s employer-provided bicycle benefit is by nature a bike use benefit and it is tax free up to 1200 euros per year. With the bike benefit employees can save about 20-30 % from the bike’s original retail price.
The bike benefit is a part of the sustainability and responsibility work at the UEF. At the same time equality has been an important value while taking the benefit to use. UEF wants to offer an opportunity for the benefit bike for as many employees as possible. That is why the benefit is not available only for employees with permanent positions, instead every employee who receives a monthly salary and is not on a trial period can get the benefit. A little over half of the university’s employees work on temporary contracts for example in different kinds of research projects.
In addition to the benefit bike, UEF is also aiming to improve biking conditions on its campuses. For example, a new bike shelter will be built on Kuopio campus. Needs for similar solutions have also been surveyed in Joensuu campus.
