The leasing contract

Things to know about your employees' leasing contracts

What happens when the leasing contract comes to an end? What happens in the event of termination, a change of employer or if continued payment of wages is interrupted? Below you will find all the questions and answers relating to the leasing contract! First things first:

Lease a Bike E-Bike-Leasing Kalkhoff woman on bike

Cooperation agreement and transfer agreement

What is the cooperation agreement?

First, you conclude the cooperation agreement. This agreement between Lease a Bike and you as the employer (lessee) forms the basis for the company bike leasing concept. It regulates all aspects of the cooperation, including important services such as the use of the portal, the return guarantee, the installment default protection and the return of the leased object.

What is the transfer agreement?

First, you as the employer have concluded the cooperation agreement with Lease a Bike and an individual leasing contract with the leasing company. As a company, you then conclude a transfer agreement or a supplementary agreement to the employment contract with the employee regarding company bike leasing. The leasing contract provided by us is a sample that you can adapt individually . It regulates the essential aspects of the leasing of the company bike between you as the employer and your employees. For example, collection and return, handling of the bike, all-round protection and the procedure in the event of damage and other important points.

man standing behind Kalkhoff bike while looking back

What happens to the company bike after the contract ends?

1

Information

Three months before the end of the leasing contract, employees will receive an e-mail informing them of the end of the leasing period. In addition, we will check in good time before the end of the leasing contract whether it is possible to make your employees an offer to purchase the company bike. If this is the case, your employees will receive such a purchase offer from us by e-mail at least three months before the end of your leasing contract. 

2

Invoice

After accepting the purchase offer, employees receive an invoice on which the taxation of the monetary benefit arising from the purchase is confirmed in accordance with EStG §37b para. 1 with takeover by us (flat-rate taxation by third parties).

3

Payment

Employees have the option of paying the purchase price by direct debit, Klarna Pay Now, Sofort Überweisung, credit card and PayPal. At the end of the leasing contract, ownership of the bike is transferred to them.

4

Receipt

As an employer, you will receive an annual overview of all bikes taken on and the corresponding proof of the transfer of the non-cash benefit in accordance with EStG §37b para. 1.

5

Changed your mind?

If you do not wish to purchase the bike, we can have it conveniently collected from the user or simply from the company.

Request your information package now.

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What happens if continued remuneration is interrupted?

You can make use of our installment default protection in the event that you no longer receive your salary.

When does installment protection apply?

This occurs, for example, if employees are ill for longer than 42 days and receive sick pay or go on parental leave. The installment default protection enables Lease a Bike to cover the leasing installments for a maximum of 12 months, provided the leasing contract has already been in place for 6 months.


In any case, we will work with you to find the best solution - including an individual, cost-neutral return of the company bike for you as the employer if none of the following options are possible.

Possible solutions
  • Change of user: You can offer the company bike to another employee for the remaining term of the contract and take all necessary internal measures (e.g. supplementary agreements to the employment contract, handover of the company bike).
  • Early termination by mutual agreement: In the event of an important economic reason, the existing leasing contract can be terminated early, whereby the employee has the option of taking over the used company bike. In addition, the employee can finance the purchase price via our FINANCE A BIKE product.
  • Change of company: In the event of a change of company, the existing leasing contract can be transferred to the new company. After a credit check, the contract is continued with all rights and obligations, and the company bike remains with the employee for the remainder of the term.

Company managers can submit requests for these options via the Lease a Bike portal.

What happens to an employee's leasing contract if it is terminated?

If one of your employees leaves the company with a Lease a Bike company bike, we offer you the following options:

Reassignment of the contract of employment to a new employee

You have the option of offering the remaining company bike to another employee for the remainder of the leasing period. As the employer, you are responsible for taking all necessary internal measures (e.g. supplementary agreements to the employment contract, handover of the company bike) and for registering the new user in the Lease a Bike portal . Lease a Bike will take care of the name change, which is free of charge .

Premature termination of the leasing contract

The employee or you as the employer can buy the leased object out of the leasing contract. After the purchase, ownership of the leased object is transferred. The employee also has the option of financing the redemption amount via the FINANCE A BIKE product. This requires access to online banking and a valid identity card with German citizenship.

Transfer of the leasing contract to the new company

Subject to a credit check, the leased object is contractually transferred to the new company. The new employer has the option of integrating the existing leasing contract into the salary conversion and continuing to provide the employee with the leased item as a company bike. The prerequisite for this is a declaration of consent from the new company and registration with Lease a Bike. The transfer is free of charge.

Company managers can submit inquiries about these options via the Lease a Bike portal.

Any further questions?

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How do I register as an employer for company bicycle leasing with Lease a Bike?

As an employer you would like to offer bike leasing as an employee benefit? No problem! With Lease a Bike, your employees can quickly and easily lease their dream bike. Thanks to wage conversion, the wish wheel is paid monthly via the gross salary and your employees save on social security contributions and taxes.


And that’s how you register as an employer for bike leasing with Lease a Bike.


Fill out the registration form for our bike leasing concept in just 5 minutes. We will then carry out a credit check of your company. After successful examination, you will be granted access to our online portal.


  • Portal setup

You define the company policies in the online portal. How much can the purchase price of the bike be? How many bikes can be leased per employee? You will then share your individual registration link with your employees. The registration for the bike leasing of your company is completely digital.


  • Approval

Every employee registration is checked by you and approved for bike leasing. This is done with just one click and your employee automatically receives an individual order code for the service bike order at the local bicycle specialist shop. The rest is done automatically via the digital portal.


  • Administration

A real-time export from our digital portal provides you with all the necessary information you need for the internal handling of bike leasing in your company and for your payroll.

What effort will I have to make as an employer?

Get started with bike leasing as an employer in just four steps thanks to our digital portal!


Minimal effort is also guaranteed following your registration: All it takes is one click to activate the employee's bike order in the Lease a Bike portal. It is also only necessary to enter the data for the salary conversion once at the start of the contract. In addition, incidents such as long-term illness or parental leave can also be reported via the Lease a Bike portal with just a few clicks.

In the event of theft or damage, you as the employer have no work to do, as the employees clarify the matter completely themselves with our specialist retail partners and Lease a Bike. In addition, you also have no workload at the regular end of the contract, as Lease a Bike coordinates the further procedure exclusively with the employees. Only in exceptional cases, if the employee cannot be reached by phone or email despite several attempts, will you as the employer be called in to help.


This way, you benefit from minimum effort and maximum benefit!

For which employment relationships is service leasing not an option?

In principle, all permanent employees can lease company bikes. However, who is allowed to lease a company bike is determined by you as the employer and can therefore be limited to certain employment relationships. Bike leasing for mini-jobs, for example, is usually not possible.

How long is the term of the company bike lease with Lease a Bike?

The term of contracts for company bikes is generally 36 months.

What is bike leasing?

You can offer company bicycle leasing in your company as an employee benefit. With Lease a Bike you enable your employees to quickly and easily lease their dream bike. Thanks to wage conversion, the wish wheel is paid monthly via the gross salary and your employees save on social security contributions and taxes. As an employer, you benefit from stronger employee loyalty and healthier employees, for example. You also contribute to sustainable mobility. You can also find more information here.

What are the benefits of bike leasing for employers?

Since 2012, the company car principle has also been applied to bicycles and e-bikes. Company bike leasing increases productivity, promotes health and has been proven to reduce employee sick days. As an employer, you can implement the offer free of charge and risk.

The advantageous salary conversion and the comprehensive all-round protection make the concept of bike leasing interesting for both employers and employees, thereby enhancing the company's image. Company bicycle leasing is now the most popular benefit for employees. Other benefits include reduced turnover, increased employee satisfaction and a positive contribution to the company's environmental footprint.


With Lease a Bike you also benefit from an extra portion of customer service. We are here to help you with the implementation and all questions related to e-bike and bicycle leasing with our first-class customer service. From a personalised online portal to personal on-site support. Find out more about the benefits for your company here.

How does the salary conversion work?

When the salary is converted, the employee receives part of the contractually agreed salary not in cash, but in kind for the period of the secondment of the service.


In other words, an amendment is made by means of an additional agreement to the employment contract, in which the future salary of the employee is reduced by a fixed amount (conversion rate) for the duration of the loan. This then results in the tax and contribution advantage for the employees. In addition, in most cases the monetary benefit is taxed. This is added to the gross monthly salary. What exactly does that mean?

Gross monthly salary

+ taxation of imputed income

- Conversion rate

- All-round protection costs

= new gross monthly salary

- Taxes

- Taxation of imputed income

= net monthly salary


If you now compare the net monthly salary without the company bike with the net monthly salary with the company bike, you get the monthly costs for the company bike leasing.


Below you will find some explanations of terms.


Conversion rate:

The conversion rate is the sum of the leasing rate and the cost of the selected all-round protection package, less any cost coverage by the employer The gross monthly salary is reduced by this conversion rate.


Taxation of the monetary advantage:

Depending on the form of provision by you as the employer, the use of the service bike is subject to taxation of the monetary benefit. In the event that a service bicycle is made available for unrestricted private use in the context of a salary conversion, the cash benefit must be taxed. The cash benefit of the company bicycle leasing is calculated at a flat rate of 1% of a quarter of the gross list price (GBP) rounded to the full 100€, added to the taxable income and taxed with it. Colloquially speaking, there is also a 0. 25% tax. The amount for the cash benefit can be found in the calculation overview on the calculator page.

What does bike leasing cost me as an employer?

The implementation of company wheel leasing is cost-neutral. As an employer, you can make use of our payment protection in the event of continued salary payments being discontinued. This happens, for example, if employees are ill for longer than 42 days and receive sick pay or go on parental leave. Lease a Bike takes over the leasing installments for a maximum period of 12 months, but only if the leasing contract has already been running for 6 months. In any case, we will always work with you to find the best solution - right up to the individual, cost-neutral return of the company bike for you as the employer.

As an employer, can I support my employees' company bike leasing with subsidies?

As a rule, employees lease via deferred compensation. A small portion of the gross salary is withheld as a leasing installment. This "remuneration in kind" must be taxed monthly at 0.25% of the gross list price. This does not incur any costs for the company.

As an employer, you can reduce the monthly conversion rate with a voluntary subsidy, for example through the fair amount. When the fair amount is applied, employer-side savings in social insurance that arise from deferred compensation are passed on to the employees, so that their savings from leasing are even higher than with classic deferred compensation.  

You can also pass the company bike on to employees as a salary bonus, in which case you pay the monthly leasing installments. In this case, employees do not have to pay tax on the non-cash benefit for private use.

What happens to the company bike at the end of the lease?
  • Three months before the end of the leasing contract, employees will receive an e-mail informing them of the end of the leasing period. In addition, we will check in good time before the end of the leasing contract whether it is possible to make your employees an offer to purchase the company bike. If this is the case, your employees will receive such a purchase offer from us by e-mail at least three months before the end of your leasing contract. 
  • After accepting the purchase offer, employees receive an invoice on which the taxation of the monetary benefit arising from the purchase is confirmed in accordance with EStG §37b para. 1 with takeover by us (flat-rate taxation by third parties).
  • Employees can pay the purchase price by direct debit, Klarna Pay Now, Sofort Überweisung, credit card and PayPal. At the end of the leasing contract, ownership of the bike is transferred to you.
  • Your company will receive an annual overview of all bikes taken over and the corresponding proof of the transfer of the non-cash benefit in accordance with EStG §37b para. 1.


If you do not wish to purchase the bike, we can arrange for it to be collected from the user or the company.

What happens if continued remuneration is interrupted?

You can make use of our installment loss protection in the event of continued salary payments being discontinued.

This happens, for example, if employees are ill for longer than 42 days and receive sick pay or go on parental leave. Lease a Bike takes over the leasing installments for a maximum period of 12 months, provided the leasing contract has already been running for 6 months.


In any case, we will always work with you to find the best solution - right up to the individual, cost-neutral return of the company bike for you as the employer, unless one of the following options is possible.

These can be:

  • Change of user: You offer the company bike to another employee for the remaining term of the contract and take all necessary internal measures (e.g. supplementary agreements to the employment contract, handover of the company bike).
  • Premature termination of the existing leasing contract by mutual agreement for important economic reasons with possible takeover of the used company bike by the employee. The employee also has the option of financing the purchase price via our FINANCE A BIKE product.
  • In the event of a change of company, the existing leasing contract can be transferred to a new company. After a credit check, the contract will be continued by the new company with all rights and obligations and the company bike will continue to be provided to the employee for the remaining term.

Company managers can submit a request for the above options via the Lease a Bike portal.

What happens to an employee's leasing contract if the employment contract is terminated?

If one of your employees leaves the company and has a Lease a Bike company bike, we offer you the following options.


You can offer the remaining company bike to another employee for the remainder of the leasing term. As the employer, you take all the necessary internal measures (e.g. supplementary agreements to the employment contract, handover of the company bike, etc.) and ensure that the new user is registered in the Lease a Bike portal. Lease a Bike takes care of the name transfer. The transfer is free of charge.


The employee or you as the employer have the option of buying the leased asset out of the leasing contract. Ownership of the leased asset is transferred after purchase. The employee also has the option of financing the redemption amount via the FINANCE A BIKE product. This requires online banking access and a valid identity card with German citizenship.


  • Transfer of the leasing contract to the new company:

Subject to a credit check, the leasing object is contractually transferred to the new company. The new employer now has the option of converting the existing leasing contract into a salary conversion and continuing to provide the employee with the leased object as a company bike. The prerequisite for this is a declaration of consent from the new company and registration with Lease a Bike. The transfer is free of charge.


Company managers can submit a request for the above options via the Lease a Bike portal.

What all-round protection packages are available?

Employees can choose between one of three packages - Basic, Premium or All-inclusive - with different budget limits depending on the selected bike and usage. The budget included in the package can be used for necessary wear and tear repairs and for an annual inspection*. Tyre damage is also covered by the individual annual wear and tear budget.


The budget per package is:


  • Basic: 75€ per year*
  • Premium: 200€ per year*
  • All-inclusive: unlimited budget*


*Note: The costs of the annual inspection are capped. The costs of the initial inspection are only billable up to a gross amount of €41.65 via the selected service package. The costs of subsequent annual inspections are only billable up to a gross amount of €83.30 via the selected service package. Any additional inspection costs are to be borne by the lessee or user.

What does all-round protection include?

Every Lease a Bike all-round protection package includes theft & damage protection, as well as a free Europe-wide mobility guarantee and a service package with an annual budget for wear and tear repairs and inspections. 


Theft & damage protection

Our theft & damage protection covers all sudden and unforeseeable damage or destruction to the company bike, e.g. due to


  • Theft, burglary or robbery
  • operating errors
  • Simple negligence
  • accidental damage
  • vandalism
  • Design, material or workmanship defects
  • Overvoltage, induction or implosion
  • Storm, frost, ice, earthquake or flooding
  • Damage to the motor or battery

There is no deductible!


Service package

Employees can choose between one of three packages - Basic, Premium or All-inclusive - with different budget limits depending on the selected bike and usage. The budget included in the package can be used for necessary wear and tear repairs and for an annual inspection*. Tyre damage is also covered by the individual annual wear and tear budget.


The budget per package is:


  • Basic: 75€ per year*
  • Premium: 200€ per year*
  • All-inclusive: unlimited budget*


*Note: The costs of the annual inspection are capped. The costs of the initial inspection are only billable up to a gross amount of €41.65 via the selected service package. The costs of subsequent annual inspections are only billable up to a gross amount of €83.30 via the selected service package. Any additional inspection costs are to be borne by the lessee or user.

Free Europe-wide mobility guarantee including 24/7 roadside assistance

In the event of a claim, we provide the following services to maintain mobility the following services:

  • 24-hour service hotline
  • On-site breakdown assistance
  • Arrangement of a bicycle repair shop in the vicinity of a breakdown
  • Towing*
  • Organization of onward or return journey after an accident*
  • Replacement bike for max. 7 days at €50*
  • Bicycle return transport*
  • Arrangement of emergency cash for bicycle tours abroad*
  • Assumption of accommodation costs in the event of a breakdown*


If you would like to take advantage of the mobility guarantee, please call 0049 4471 967 3113.



*from a distance of 10km from your permanent residence

How is the company bike insured?

Our theft & damage cover includes all sudden and unforeseeable damage or destruction to the leased object, e.g. due to:

  • theft, burglary or robbery
  • operating errors
  • Simple negligence
  • accidental damage
  • vandalism
  • Design, material or workmanship defects
  • Overvoltage, induction or implosion
  • Storm, frost, ice, earthquake or flooding
  • Damage to the motor or battery
Company car and company bike?

The company bike and company car can also be used at the same time. The 1% method then applies to both the company bike and the car.

In contrast to the company car, employees do not have to pay tax of 0.03 percent per kilometer for the journey to work.


Electric bicycles with a motor that provides assistance at more than 25 km per hour are classified as motor vehicles under traffic law and the non-cash benefit is assessed in the same way as for a company car.


Note: For company bicycles, the assessment basis for the taxable non-cash benefit is quartered and rounded down to the nearest hundred. This corresponds to 0.25% taxation.

Commuting allowance and company bike?

The commuting allowance for journeys between home and work is generally to be granted at € 0.30/km regardless of the means of transportation (Section 9 (1) No. 4 EstG).

Employer entitled to input tax vs. employer not entitled to input tax deduction: What needs to be considered?

The leasing installments for company bicycles are considered business expenses for business management purposes. This means that companies entitled to deduct input tax can deduct the VAT included from the conversion rate. The employees then convert the net leasing installments, resulting in even greater savings.



Companies that are not entitled to deduct input tax, on the other hand, convert the leasing installment including VAT, so that the savings for the employees are somewhat lower.

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