Flexible remuneration as an asset in your compensation package

Salary alone no longer sets you apart. HR managers and comp & ben specialists feel it every day: in job interviews, retention conversations, and exit discussions.

The 2025 data gives that feeling new weight. The number of Belgian employers offering a cafeteria plan grew by 40%. More than 150,000 employees now benefit from one, a 30% increase on 2024. And 80% of them actively updated their choices last year.

What does this tell us about what employees really want? And how do you translate that as an HR team into a more attractive compensation package? Here is what the data shows.

Employees choose actively, when you give them the chance

80% of employees with a cafeteria plan changed their selections in 2025. They are genuinely engaged with their own remuneration.

Offering a cafeteria plan gives employees something they rarely find elsewhere: real choice within their package. They decide for themselves whether to go for a bike lease, a smartphone upgrade, or extra leave days. That autonomy has a direct impact on satisfaction and on staff turnover.

The system works, but only if you offer it. Every employee without a plan has no choice at all. And that shows: in exit interviews, in market benchmarks, in conversations with candidates who already enjoy a cafeteria plan at a competitor.

What employees actually choose when they can

The top 5 most-chosen benefits in 2025, based on the SD Worx analysis of 500+ employers and 150,000+ employees:

multimedia equipment: smartphones, laptops, tablets (20%)
pension savings (18%)
additional leave days (15%)
bike (~15%, biggest riser: +10%)
hospitalisation insurance (12%)

The bike is the most striking shift. Once an employer offers bike leasing, 1 in 7 employees chooses it. And the company car is losing ground: popular in 2024, it dropped out of the top 5 for large organisations in 2025.

This shift matters for your package strategy. Employees want mobility options, financial security, and personal choice. Not a one-size-fits-all package.

The business case: flexible remuneration as a recruitment advantage

For many organisations, the cafeteria plan is no longer just an HR tool. It is a strategic asset in the competition for talent. And that competition plays out in smaller organisations too.

The number of SME employers (fewer than 250 employees) offering a cafeteria plan grew by 59%, almost double the growth rate of large organisations (30%). SMEs that are still hesitating are falling behind their competitors in attracting talent.

Smaller organisations are finding it perfectly achievable to roll out a fully-fledged cafeteria plan. Options such as bike leasing, public transport reimbursement, and smartphone upgrades are consistently highlighted as genuine advantages. And that is increasingly visible in job interviews, where flexibility and freedom of choice play a decisive role.

Three well-chosen benefits can already be enough to tip the balance. The barrier to entry is far lower than most HR teams assume.

Learn more about the cafeteria plan

How to manage it without overloading your HR team

A cafeteria plan is only an asset if it does not overwhelm your team. The complexity is not in the plan itself. It is in the follow-up, when everything is built on manual processes.

Three principles keep it manageable:

set clear parameters: which budget, which benefits, which windows for making changes
automate payroll exports and reporting: manual follow-up does not scale as your plan grows
communicate actively at every selection window: employees who do not know they can choose, do not choose

A well-configured system reduces the HR workload. The risk of losing talent because of an unattractive package costs more than the investment in a structured plan.

Checklist: how to make your compensation package more attractive

review what employees raise in exit interviews and job applications
select 3 to 5 benefits that match your workforce profile and sector
set a clear budget per employee or job category
introduce an annual review window so employees can update their choices
use a central system with automatic payroll export and consolidated reporting
communicate the plan actively: at onboarding, during appraisals, at every selection window
benchmark your package regularly against the market: 59% of SMEs are already moving

Changing a cafeteria plan: what to watch out for

A cafeteria plan is more than a menu of options: it is part of your employees’ terms of employment. Once benefits have been granted, you cannot simply reverse or adjust them unilaterally. Changes to the plan, the budget, or the available benefits therefore call for care, transparent communication, and usually consultation with the employees involved.

The legal and tax framework also plays a role. The rules around social security (NSSO), taxation, and sector-level collective agreements evolve, and a plan that is not compliant carries risks. That is why it is best to align every change with your social secretariat and your provider, so that the adjustment is handled correctly and stays within the applicable regulations. That way your cafeteria plan remains an asset rather than a risk.

Want to play it safe? Work with a structured system and a partner that helps monitor the follow-up, the payroll export, and compliance. That keeps your plan up to date without overloading your HR team.

Frequently asked questions about the cafeteria plan

Can an employer change the cafeteria plan unilaterally?

Not freely: a granted benefit is part of the terms of employment and cannot be reversed unilaterally. What you do keep in hand are the plan's parameters — the budget, the benefits menu, and the selection windows — as long as you communicate them in good time and transparently. With the Cafeteria Plan from Monizze (RewardFlex) you manage those parameters centrally and document every adjustment, so employees always know where they stand. Align structural changes with your social secretariat in advance.

What happens to the chosen benefits during long-term illness or absence?

Ongoing choices in principle continue, but the concrete impact depends on the type of benefit: a multi-year bike lease is handled differently from an annual choice such as eco-vouchers or an insurance policy. So set out these situations in advance in your plan's rules. With the Cafeteria Plan from Monizze (RewardFlex) you can see for each employee which choices are running, so you can follow up correctly as soon as an absence is prolonged. Check the individual situation with your social secretariat.

What happens to the cafeteria plan when someone leaves the company?

When an employee leaves, ongoing benefits and commitments are settled according to the arrangements in your plan: some benefits such as a bike lease have a takeover or termination scheme, others stop at the end of the selection period. With the Cafeteria Plan from Monizze (RewardFlex) you track for each employee what is still running and include the wind-down in your payroll export, so nothing is left hanging. Provide clear exit arrangements in your rules and get support with the wind-down.

Do I need to adapt my existing cafeteria plan to new regulations?

Yes, schedule a periodic check: the tax and social framework around social security (NSSO), taxation, and sector-level agreements evolves, and a plan that is no longer compliant loses its tax advantage. As a provider, Monizze keeps an eye on these rules and updates the platform, so your plan stays up to date without you having to dig through every change in the law. On top of that, review your plan periodically with your social secretariat, so it stays compliant and attractive for your employees.

Conclusion

The 2025 data is clear: a cafeteria plan makes your compensation package more attractive, whether you have 15 or 1,500 employees. Employees who have a choice engage with it. And they stay longer. Monizze helps you build and manage that package without adding pressure to your HR team.

See how the cafeteria plan works