What is the Food Allowance?
The food allowance is an amount paid by companies and government entities to employees as compensation for meal costs during actual working days. The food allowance is paid for each day actually worked, i.e. if the employee is absent from work, this amount is not due by the employer.
Although it is a social benefit commonly offered by companies, the mint database allowance is not mandatory for private sector workers, unless it is defined in the individual or collective employment contract. The public sector meal allowance is defined annually in the State Budget and serves as the basis for the company meal allowance in Portugal.
Who is entitled to the Food Allowance?
All civil servants or employees of companies that have this benefit provided for in their individual employment contract or collective employment agreement. In the case of companies that provide a canteen or dining room service, the employer is exempt from paying the meal allowance, as they are already paying for the employees' food expenses.
Food Allowance in exceptional situations
There are some extraordinary situations in which the food allowance raises some doubts, for example, teleworking or part-time workers:
Teleworking - if workers received a food allowance before starting to work remotely, the Ministry of Labor clarifies that they should continue to benefit from this salary supplement - “workers who received a food allowance up until the date they started working remotely should continue to receive it”.
Part-time - if the contract mentions this benefit and the working period is equal to or greater than 5 hours, the food allowance must be paid in full; if it is less, the amount is calculated in proportion to the number of hours worked.
Night work - there is no specific law for food allowances for night workers, which means that payment depends on the established employment contract.
Lay-off - when the normal working period is reduced, the employee maintains the right to receive a meal allowance if the daily working period is equal to or greater than 5 hours. However, if the employment contract is suspended, there is no right to payment of the meal allowance, as there is no effective provision of work.
What is the value of the Food Allowance in 2023?
The 2023 State Budget revised the value of the food allowance, increasing it from the previous €5.20 to €6/day in the public sector. This increase came into effect on 1 May 2023 and has retroactive effects from January 2023. Companies that choose to pay the food allowance to their employees use this value as a reference, however, in most cases, they pay a higher amount.
How is the Food Allowance paid?
Regardless of the amount of the food allowance to be paid to each employee, it is possible to make the payment in cash, by voucher or by bank card:
Cash meal allowance - every month, together with their salary, the employee receives the meal allowance in their bank account. If the value of the meal allowance is less than or equal to 6 euros, they are exempt from Social Security and IRS.
