As promised in the 2018-2023 coalition agreement, finance minister (DP) announced on Friday 9 June that the meal voucher scheme will be modernised.
From 1 January 2024, the face value of this benefit in kind will rise from a maximum of €10.80 to €15, she announced to the press alongside François Koepp, general secretary of the Horesca trade federation, which represents the hospitality sector.
He welcomed the changes agreed, in particular the restriction on the use of these vouchers to food purchases in restaurants, snack bars, food shops and supermarkets.
€75 maximum per day
Entirely digitised in the form of a card, meal vouchers will also be limited to a maximum debit of five units per day. This means that these vouchers can only be used in supermarkets up to a value of €75.
It will no longer be possible to buy a television with luncheon vouchers.
“There was a lot of abuse, but with digitisation the new system will also put a stop to abuse. It will no longer be possible to buy a television with meal vouchers”, stressed Backes.
However, the employee contribution to this benefit in kind has been maintained at €2.80 per unit. This means that the increase in the face value of meal vouchers will be borne entirely by employers, who will be free to decide whether or not to adopt it.
So it remains to be seen how many companies will be prepared to take the plunge and introduce €15 meal vouchers, in a year already marked by the introduction of three new wage increases.
According to Koepp, “there have been requests from large companies to increase the value”. Backes emphasised the importance she attaches to helping increase employees’ purchasing power. According to the ministry of finance, some 80,000 employees in Luxembourg receive meal vouchers in addition to their salaries.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.