The meal vouchers validity from three months to a year. The law, passed a few months ago, has just been published in the Official Monitor, reported thursday the Union of the middle classes (UCM) in a statement. Because of the lack of precision in the law on the date of entry into force, it will take place ten days after the publication, means on August 11th, depending on the UCM.
More than 250 million lunch vouchers are distributed each year in Belgium as additional salary. However, between 0.3 and 0.4% of those checks are not used, the expiry date has been exceeded. This represents a loss of 10 million euros per year specifies the UCM. According to the Minister of Employment Monica De Coninck, the annual loss amounted to € 5 million, an amount of 1,8 Billion EUR spent in 2011, representing 0.32% of the volume .
The extension of the term of validity is “a step in the right direction,” according to Jean-Pierre Christiaens, Managing Director of social secretariat UCM. However, it calls for a generalization of electronic meal vouchers, “more reliable, more environmentally friendly, more economical.”
Paper vouchers involve significant costs for businesses, said UCM. According to UCM, a third of users, or 530,000 people, have electronic checks.
A few months ago, several parties have expressed support for the end of the meal vouchers, preferring that future money should be paid directly into the accounts of workers.
Information Eco-checks:
Eco-Cheques have 2 years validity with a upper-limit of EUR 250 per worker (denominations of 10 EUR / checks).
Sources:
La Libre
References
