With greater flexibility for the employees to decide where to work it is now harder for employers to calculate the allowances or other advantages in the payroll. This is especially difficult if the benefits are location related : home, office or elsewhere?

When everybody was going to the office almost full time, most companies were just setting a monthly amount without really checking where people were working. For just a few days working from home it was just not worth the effort of adjusting the payroll every month. 

In every country the rules and calculations are different, in some you get a travel allowance for the days in the office, others subsidies for the days working from home… But for everybody this is now a hassle for HR to prepare the payroll. 

Simplify payroll calculation when working hybrid

The key is to collect in some way the presence data of your employees so you can adjust the payroll payments for travel or work-from-home allowance. You have several options for that :

1. Using Excel reports

Ask your employees to keep track and report in excel at the end of the month where they worked. It is easy to start, but it is really a hassle for both the employee and the HR department. One more admin work that your employees will have to do. And from an HR side, it would still require to calculate and enter the data manually in the payroll software. Excel is a great tool for many things but it will really limit your hybrid workplace.

😡  Bad experience for the employees

😡  Time consuming for the employees and HR

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2. Report in your HR system

Some HR software have added the possibility for the employees to report where they are working. From an HR perspective the good thing is that you get all the data in one place and can easily automate the payroll calculation.

😡  Double reporting for the employees if also using a workplace management system

😡  Just a reporting tool, not helping with hybrid work

🙂  Easy payroll calculation

3. Use a Workplace management tool with HRIS integration

With our flex office software, the presence data is being captured as they use the tool for other activities. Meaning employees book a desk at the office and that information is stored and then sent to the payroll software automatically. 

In that way, the employees have a good experience as they use a tool that brings them value : finding who is going to the office when, finding a good place to work, booking a space or desk to make sure to work in good conditions at the office ..etc

🙂  Good employee experience

🙂  Facilitating hybrid work collaboration

🙂  Easy payroll calculation

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Netherlands : Travel allowance and home allowance for hybrid work

In the Netherlands there are some important changes to the payroll calculation since 2022 for the travel allowance and the new home allowance.

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Travel allowance (reiskostenvergoeding)

If the reimbursement of travel expenses by the employer is not required by law, most Dutch companies do offer it in the work contract. 

Before January 1rst 2022, if the employee was travelling to the office at least 128 days per year, then the company could calculate the allowance on an annual basis as if the employee travels 214 working days. Therefore companies were just defining a fixed monthly payment as almost everybody was going more than the 2.6 days/week minimum required legally. 

From January 1, 2022, if the employee goes less than 128 days per year to the office then it is required that the employees report the days they have been travelling to the office, and the payroll will be calculated based on the actual days in the office.

If you have a hybrid work policy where employees are required to visit the office 3 days a week then a fixed monthly amount can be applied. 

However this will impact the flexibility you give to your teams, and it would be a shame to impact employee experience because of administrative requirements. 

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Home allowance (thuiswerkvergoeding)

From January 1rst 2022, under Dutch law employers can now provide employees with a tax-free allowance of up to 2€ per day. 

With Ciao, you can get the monthly travel and home data to automate your payroll within AFAS and Nmbrs. Contact us for more information about our integrations with HRIS softwares and how you can create a great flexible workplace that your employees will love.
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