Is there a minimum amount of meal vouchers that the company must offer?

Meal vouchers are one of the most popular benefits offered by a large number of companies to their employees. You must have, at some point, wondered if there is a minimum amount stipulated or how organisations define the total amount destined for it, right?

You can use this benefit to have meals in several establishments, such as restaurants, snack bars and bakeries, as long as they are associated with the benefit operator. Alymente has developed a content with the objective of answering all the doubts that may arise on the subject.

Are you interested? Continue reading what we have prepared below and learn!

After all, is there a minimum value for meal vouchers?

The first thing you need to understand to clear up this doubt is that, according to the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), offering VR is not an obligation on the part of the company. It is totally optional.

Despite this, it is very common to find organisations that, because they are concerned about the health and wellbeing of their employees, count on this allowance in their benefits package.

However, precisely because it is not compulsory (like the transportation voucher, for example), there is no predetermined or minimum value.

How do companies define the value of VR?

Another great doubt regarding the theme concerns the manner in which the amount offered by the employer is defined. In fact, there is no standard for this, precisely because it is not mandatory.

In the end, companies make the decision based on financial reality and viability in the long term. Most of the time, the average of the region is considered for a basic food.

In addition, certain unions also set minimum values in their collective agreements. Sometimes, this figure is also used as a basis by the company.

Is the food voucher considered part of my salary?

VR is nothing more than an indemnity amount that has as main purpose to supply the fact that the employees cannot go back to their respective homes at lunchtime just to eat.

Exactly because it has this indemnity nature, it cannot be automatically incorporated to the salary and, therefore, it is not considered part of it. The opposite happens with the VT, which requests a reduction of a percentage of the salary directly in the payroll.

What is the best way to offer VR?

Today, there are several different modalities for companies that wish to offer interesting benefits to their employees. The most traditional is the magnetic card, where the company deposits a certain amount that can be used in accredited establishments.

However, there are still companies that use paper vouchers or even money directly deposited in the employee's current account.

Currently, there are much more modern options that meet a number of workers' needs, such as flexible benefits platforms. In this modality, the organisation defines the value it wants to offer and makes it available in an application used via mobile phone.

Here on the Alymente blog you can ask many more questions like this one about food stamps! Want to understand everything about the topic? Then check out the news!