This rule, often ignored during the holidays, can have serious financial consequences.
It’s the most anticipated time of the year but also, often, the most feared for one’s finances. Summer is coming, and so are the holidays. Between travel costs, the amount spent on accommodation, expenses for various activities and even food expenses, the summer budget can quickly skyrocket for a family. If aid exists to cushion the weight of these all-out summer payments, many French people are also counting on another tip to limit the impact of the numerous purchases to come. However, this practice often turns out to be illegal and carries a heavy fine. And almost no one knows it.
Vacations are often synonymous with fun. Restaurants, ice creams, crepes… The delicacies are legion. When paying, the first instinct is to take out your bank card. Some have also kept the habit of paying in cash, while others do not hesitate to pay using their restaurant voucher card. 4.8 million French people have one. This is an account funded partly by the employer and partly by the employee to finance lunchtime meals on days when the person works. However, the card holder is free to use it whenever they want. With the possibility of spending 19 euros per day, the temptation is great to use it during the holidays.
However, the law regulates the days and places where the meal voucher card is issued. It is not possible to do anything with it. First of all, it is prohibited to pay with outside your work department and neighboring departments, unless the company explicitly authorizes it. Concretely, an employee working in Paris cannot use their meal voucher card in Bordeaux, Nice or even Versailles.
Furthermore, it is impossible to pay with it every day. On Sundays and public holidays, it is forbidden to use meal vouchers. Again, unless your company explicitly allows it. This legislative framework for meal vouchers is little known but can, however, hurt the wallet in the event of control. According to the law, failure to respect these rules results in a fine of 4e category, that is to say 135 euros, which can be reduced to 90 euros in the event of payment within three days or increased to 750 euros in the event of late payment.
In reality, controls are almost non-existent and the use of restaurant tickets anywhere in France and at any time is common. Even though in 2018, the boss of an SME was reprimanded by the Labor Inspectorate after an employee used his titles on non-working days (weekend or public holiday)…