EN | Meal Voucher in France - How does it work ?

In France, it’s very common for companies to offer meal voucher to their employees.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 ?

💳 It is usually a card with which the employee can pay for his food in most restaurants and food stores.
📅 The company pays for part of the value of the voucher and manages the system by crediting the card every month according to the number of days worked.
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This is a benefit provided to the employees. This benefit is exempted from social contribution if the employer complies with these conditions:
- The employer part must not exceed the indexed limit on the income tax scale. The limit is 5,55 euros per day in 2022.
- The employer part must be between 50% and 60% of the voucher value.

🗼 The common practice in Paris is around 10 euros per meal per employee.

This system, which is not an obligation, means that most of the time people leave the office for lunch and lose the opportunity to be together during that famous "French lunch break".
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 ?

Some start-ups are offering new concepts to make this moment an opportunity to be together around a good meal.
A company like PopChef installs connected fridges that they fill every day for the staff. This only takes up 2 or 3 square metres of a kitchen.

Having a dedicated kitchen area where employees can all have lunch together is an easy way to create a collective spirit and teamwork.