Meal allowance: A right or a benefit?
7 de March, 2024
The meal allowance is a salary supplement that many companies give their employees. The aim is to ensure that employees have access to a nutritious and decent meal during their working day. To this end, the amount allocated as a meal allowance can be used to pay for meals or foodstuffs to be prepared.
The allowance is usually paid when the monthly salary is paid and relates to each day actually worked. In other words, it is not paid during vacation periods or when the employee is absent for any reason.
But do you know if the meal allowance is an employee right or just a benefit? Are companies obliged to give it or not? Find out with us.
Read also: Meal allowance: Everything you need to know
The meal allowance is a social benefit
In fact, contrary to what some people may think, companies are not obliged to pay meal allowances to their employees. It is not covered by the Labor Code and is an employee benefit that private companies may or may not grant.
The allowance is only payable if it is provided for in the individual employment contract or collective agreement.
In this sense, if your employment contract mentions the payment of the allowance, then you are entitled to receive it, even if you are a part-time worker or teleworking, for example.
Is there a minimum amount?
As it is not compulsory, there is no minimum or maximum limit on the amount to be awarded. However, the amount allocated to public sector companies – currently €6/day – ends up serving as a benchmark, and this is also the amount that is exempt from taxation in cash.
When given as a meal card, the exempt amount becomes €10.20/day. This specific tax framework is due to the fact that, with a social voucher or card, there is a guarantee that this amount is actually spent on food.
Most companies prefer to pay the allowance by card, precisely because it allows them to maximize liquidity – compared to paying in cash – without increasing the tax burden on the employee and the company.
Find out here all the figures to consider for 2024.
In short, the meal allowance is a social benefit and an important tool that companies have at their disposal to support their employees and increase their purchasing power when it comes to spending on meals and food products.
Once this benefit is included in the employment contract, it becomes your right.
Article updated in December 2024 (to take into account the new meal allowance rates in force).