European workers saddle up for tax benefit scheme

GETTING paid for going to work may sound too good to be true, but it’s part of an increasingly popular scheme for commuters across Europe.

Employers in Belgium, the Netherlands and other European countries are rewarding staff if they come to work on a bicycle, paying them for every kilometre they cycle, all in an effort to promote environmentalism, not to mention a healthier lifestyle.

In Belgium, cycling commuters are being paid 20 cents per kilometre, where as those in the Netherlands can earn 15 cents and participants in Britain up to 20 pence per mile — all of it tax-free.