Benefits and home office: can I use my benefit when I am not at work?

Countless organisations have had their working models completely transformed by the outbreak of the new Coronavirus. Working from home has worked so well for most companies that many of them will adopt the model forever, even after the pandemic. But what about employee benefits in the midst of all these changes? Today we're going to talk about benefits and home office. 

According to a survey conducted by ISE Business School, around 80% of the management layer of companies like this new way of working and believe it works. 

Although remote work has been a trend in the labour market for a few years now, many leaders had never seen themselves in this situation. From the moment they were forced to adapt to this new reality, they realised that it only took a few adjustments for the home office to work as well as the face-to-face model. 

However, along with the migration from in-person to remote comes some questions. If the meal voucher is a benefit offered to employees so that they can have meals near their workplaces, is it still valid for those who work from home? Throughout this article we will talk all about this topic. Check it out!

Will I continue to receive benefits even if I work from home office?

One of the biggest doubts when the subject is benefits and home office is in relation to the company's commitment to pay them in the remote model. 

First you need to understand that any and all benefits offered by the company must be contained in a contract. There are two different situations that need to be mapped out to understand if you can have your benefit cut in remote working. 

If the meal voucher, for instance, is a benefit that was agreed upon through collective bargaining, as is the case of some unions, then the VR is mandatory. If the organization does not fit in this scenario, the meal voucher may be cut at any time, not only when we talk about the atypical pandemic situation we are living. 

It is necessary to check the clauses of the employment contract to be sure about the conditions under which the meal voucher was offered to the employee, only then it is possible to draw assertive conclusions about each situation. 

Another point worth mentioning concerns holidays. During the paid rest period, the company is not obliged to offer benefits, such as VT and VR, to its employees. 

Benefits and home office: guidelines for use

Now that you understand more about the company's obligations towards the employee when it comes to benefits and home office, it's time to learn more about how to use them. 

Suppose you worked in an office and now you are working from home and still receive your benefit, it can be used normally for meals.

It is important to remember, only, that there are some rules for the use of VR, for example, and this is still valid for those who work from home. It is prohibited to sell the benefit to third parties, under penalty of dismissal for just cause by the company. The practice is even considered a crime because of the deviation of the benefit's purpose. 

Benefits, home office and Alymente!

All indications are that working models as we know them will be transformed forever with the home office, and along with it you need to adapt. Instead of being held hostage to using several different cards for benefits usage, it is possible to bring the payment together on a single flexible multi-benefit platform!

This kind of platform helps (and a lot) in the home office dynamic, because it is possible to pay:

• entertainment (such as streaming movies and music);
• delivery on food apps;
• supermarkets;
• pharmacies;
• and more!

With Alymente you choose the one that best suits your reality. Have we answered your questions about benefits and home office? Remember that here on the Alymente blog there are many more articles like this one for you to keep up to date!