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Edenred
If there is one social achievement that is consensus, it is that of meal vouchers.
Praised by workers, businesses, restaurateurs and supermarkets, this device dating back to 1967 is a well-oiled machine that benefits more than 4.4 million beneficiaries and represents a turnover of some 8 billion euros for the 200,000 traders, all sectors combined, approved.
While the amount of these vouchers reaches on average nearly 8 euros, it is not always easy to make them profitable on a daily basis.
Strict rules of principle
If we put aside the exceptional easing measures due to the economic crisis, the usual regulatory framework is very strict.
These titles, financed at a maximum of 60% by the company, are awarded according to the number of days worked per month, which excludes leave and sick leave.
In addition, as Patrick Bouderbala, president of the National Commission for Meal Vouchers (CNTR), reminds us, you can usually only use two tickets to pay for your meal, subject to a ceiling of 19 euros per day. , all within the single geographic department of your company.
Their use is also prohibited during your rest hours, most often in the evening and at weekends, since the objective is to allow workers to eat between two work periods.
Note that to compensate for the hoarding due to the months of confinement, the ceiling has been increased to 38 euros at restaurants, including weekends, until the end of 2020.
The more nuanced reality
Due to a lack of controls - only 250 to 300 approvals are withdrawn each year - some restaurateurs nevertheless accept, with generosity, these restaurant vouchers which represent between 15 and 20% of their turnover.
Likewise, consumers do not hesitate to use these vouchers to pay for part of the shopping.
From the deli and seafood departments to desserts, including fruit and vegetables, canned goods, bakery, soups and drinks, with the exception of alcohol, the choice is wide.
That said, a 2016 agreement between the CNTR and the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FDC) largely standardized practices by implementing cash register software that detects the products concerned.
And the FDC to explain that in case of disparity, "we forward the cases reported to the National Commission which works to objectify the eligibility criteria", in other words which decides the question.
Do not deflect the system
Faced with a complete checkbook worth around 150 euros per month, one can wonder about the relevance of such constraints.
“Meal vouchers are a great social tool for businesses, and especially for SMEs and very small businesses,” retorts Patrick Bouderbala.
But employees tend to forget that it is a tax niche that is expensive, since the device is exempt from charges and taxes.
This is what explains its supervision.
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And Charly Belisson, responsible for the file for the Union of trades and industries of the hotel industry (Umih), to add: “We cannot wrongly remove the ceiling through restaurant vouchers without deviating from this system, which could encourage the state to question it.
Now, no one wants that.
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The challenges of the restaurant menu
If the specialists interviewed consider the abuses marginal, they rely on the electronic map to solve the problem.
Offered since 2014, this dematerialized version greatly facilitates the management of employers and traders and allows workers to pay to the nearest cent.
Transactions are also tracked and drifts limited.
According to the president of the CNTR, "the card allows use in accordance with regulations, which ensures the sustainability of the system".
Except that it remains in the minority, which is why the National Commission has called on the State to make dematerialization compulsory.
But this will soon no longer be its problem, since a new body is to succeed the CNTR in 2021. The ministry has also announced the launch of a consultation on the modernization of the governance of the system in September.
Case to be continued.
Employees
Restoration
Restaurant
Legislation
Purchasing power
Consumption