Meal contribution

What it means

An employer must provide meals for employees working more than four hours. That can be a meal, a meal voucher or a cash contribution to the account.

Since 2023 the employee chooses between a voucher and money. The employer contributes at least 55 % of the meal price within the statutory range and may add more from the social fund.

The law speaks of one hot main meal and a drink per shift, not of any grocery shopping. That is why the contribution takes the form of a voucher or an amount tied to shifts worked. A flat monthly supplement unrelated to shifts would not be a meal contribution at all but part of wages, with all the tax and contributions that follow.

How it works in practice

Within the cap the contribution is deductible for the company and exempt for the employee. Anything above is taxable income and is handled as a benefit.

It is not the same as travel meal allowance, which compensates hours spent away from the workplace and has nothing to do with the duty to provide meals.

We add the cash contribution to pay either for the month in which the shifts were worked, or in advance by the roster with a later true-up, following the rule the company sets in its internal policy. The same rule has to apply to everyone, or the payroll sheets no longer show which days the contribution was paid for.

What to watch out for

Entitlement follows hours worked, not calendar days. It does not arise for home working days, leave or sick days, which is why payroll derives it from attendance.

The Labour Code duty applies to employees, not to a director who works only under a contract of office. The tax treatment of the contribution differs for them, and a company that hands them meal vouchers like everyone else risks the cost being challenged in an audit and the contribution taxed as their income.