Travel allowance for primary education adjusted due to excessive administrative burden
The unions and the employers' organization PO Council have adjusted the agreements on travel expenses reimbursement. The scheme would cause too much disruption and administration at schools.
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From January 1, 2024, primary education employees will therefore receive a fixed monthly allowance for a fixed number of travel days.
AOb-director Thijs Roovers says that nothing will change about the agreement itself. "In the last collective labor agreement we increased the mileage allowance from 12 to 17 euro cents per kilometer. We also agreed to compensate for more kilometers: from 21 to 25. That will remain the case. It's purely about the effect. No one should receive extra administration because of a travel expenses scheme and have to manually keep track of all kinds of trips.”
No one may receive additional administration due to a travel expense arrangement
The agreement to pay for the actual travel days turned out to be one with too many snags. “Educational staff would then have to indicate every day that they have made a trip,” says AObsector director Anton Bodegraven. “People who were not going to travel and wanted to take advantage of a tax scheme later in the year also had to keep track of this.”
Solution
That is why the PO council and the unions came up with a solution by paying a fixed amount per month for employees who live 7 kilometers and further from their school. “No one will lose out,” Bodegraven emphasizes. “The number of travel days of the employee forms the basis for the compensation.” The number of kilometers traveled by an employee is calculated and the school board then looks at how many travel days you have per year in proportion to the employment contract. This then results in a fixed amount per month. A colleague who lives 8 kilometers from school receives a lower amount than a colleague who lives further away.
No one is losing out
School boards pay this compensation every month, except in August. You will find it on the pay slip. Even if you are ill, the travel allowance will continue for the first two weeks.
Substitutes
Replacements will still receive compensation up to a maximum of 34,5 kilometers per single journey. Nothing has changed about this. The number of kilometers is higher for replacements, in order to encourage replacement. Colleagues who live nearby - between 0 and 7 kilometers - do not receive compensation.
School boards can, if they wish, agree with the participation council on a better travel allowance for commuting. It may never be less than stated in the collective labor agreement.
Log in to see two useful calculation examples about travel costs. We made the calculation for a teacher who works three days and lives 15 kilometers from school and for a janitor who works full-time and lives 40 kilometers away. With these examples you can easily make a calculation that suits your situation. Curious about all agreements and details? Download the collective labor agreement article