Electronic meal vouchers

Electronic meal vouchers are exempt from social security contributions under the following cumulative conditions:

a) meal vouchers are not granted as a replacement for or in conversion of salary, bonuses, benefits in kind or any other benefit, whether or not it is subject to social security contributions, with the exception of eco-vouchers;

b) the granting of meal vouchers must be provided for in a collective bargaining agreement concluded at sector or company level. If such an agreement cannot be concluded due to the absence of a trade union delegation or when it concerns a category of staff not usually covered by such an agreement, the granting of the meal voucher may be governed by an individual agreement;

c) the number of meal vouchers granted must be equal to the number of working days actually worked;

d) the meal vouchers are issued in the employee's name (this condition is met if the granting of the meal voucher and the data relating thereto appear on the employee's individual accounts);

e) the period of validity of the meal vouchers is limited to 12 months and it can only be accepted as payment for a meal or for the purchase of ready-to-eat food;

f) the employer's contribution to the cost of the meal voucher may not exceed EUR 6.91 per meal voucher; the employee's contribution must be at least EUR 1.09;

g) the monthly payslip indicates the number of electronic meal vouchers and their gross amount, minus the employee's personal contributions;

h) before using electronic meal vouchers, employees must be able to check the balance and the period of validity of meal vouchers issued to them and not yet used;

i) electronic meal vouchers may only be made available by an approved vendor;

j) the use of electronic meal vouchers may not entail any costs for the employee, except in the event of theft or loss. The conditions in this respect must be laid down in a collective bargaining agreement concluded at sector or company level or in the work rules if the grant of electronic meal vouchers is governed by an individual written agreement. The cost of a replacement card in the event of theft or loss may not exceed the face value of one meal voucher.

If the grant of meal vouchers does not meet the above conditions, regular social security contributions are payable on the employer’s contribution of them. Meal vouchers are also subject to social security contributions for the days on which the employee eats a meal at a lower price than the cost price in a company restaurant, unless the employee fully uses the meal voucher to pay for the meal. There are also rules preventing the meal voucher from being combined with other forms of compensation for meal expenses (on a flat-rate or actual basis).