News reports about changes in tax law are among the more boring kinds of reading. But Kai Gebhardt was capti­vated imme­di­ately when he read at the end of 2012 that the tax break for company cars was to apply for leased bicy­cles, e-bikes and pedelecs as well. “That would be a good thing for our employees,” thought the Head of Human Resources at ebm-papst Land­shut. Gebhardt is an enthu­si­astic cyclist himself, riding 20 kilo­me­ters to work every day. So he read up on the matter, looked for a leasing company and spoke with a bicycle dealer. Half a year later, he presented his concept to the staff on Health Day.

“The people with bikes have a lower average sick rate of 3.67 percent compared with 5.94 percent for the rest of the work­force.”

Kai Gebhardt, Head of Human Resources at ebm-papst Land­shut

Kai Gebhardt, Head of Human Resources at ebm-papst Land­shut, cycles. every day himself. (Photo | ebm-papst)

It works as follows: The employee chooses a bicycle and the employer pays the monthly leasing fees, which are listed as deferred compen­sa­tion on the pay slip. In the end, every employee saves money because a lower tax rate applies for the leasing. When the leasing contract expires, the employee can buy the bicycle for a minor sum.

The idea was well received; today about 300 employees in Land­shut, over a quarter of the work­force, have a company bike. Germany’s bicycle club ADFC has certi­fied ­ebm-papst Land­shut as a “bike-friendly employer” twice. To earn this desig­na­tion, a company must fulfill numerous criteria. These include having enough bicycle stands or bike-related activ­i­ties. For example, every year about 150 employees take part in a bike rally in Land­shut that is dedi­cated to climate protec­tion. “We recently installed a charging station for e-bikes, which also scores points,” says Gebhardt.

Gebhardt notes another posi­tive effect of the company bikes: “The people with bikes have a lower average sick rate of 3.67 percent compared with 5.94 percent for the rest of the work­force.” The loca­tions in Mulfingen, St. Georgen and Lauf now offer the company bike plan as well.