From Friday 1 July, the ceiling of €38 restaurant tickets per day will end. You would not, however, return to the 19 €. Bercy is working on the proposals of professionals, restaurateurs and the National Commission for Restaurant Vouchers (CNTR). Among those considered, the lowering of the ceiling, the end of their use on weekends…
For two years, employees have become accustomed to the daily ceiling of €38 for restaurant tickets. Initially created to support restaurateurs and sell restaurant ticket stocks in 2020, this increase in the ceiling has been extended three times. This time, Bercy does not plan to renew. On the other hand, the ministry has not yet decided anything for the future.
Towards a ceiling of €29 per day?
The doubling of the ceiling for restaurant tickets has been a very popular measure with restaurateurs and consumers alike. But in February, the government announced that the change from €38 instead of €19 would end on July 1. A few days before the fateful date, restaurateurs, restaurant ticket issuers offered Bercy a compromise. They agree to reduce the ceiling of €38, considered too high by issuers such as Edenred or Sodexo, but do not want to return to €19, the ceiling still in force for supermarkets. Thus, the CNTR has proposed a new ceiling of €29 on which no official decision has been taken.
However, the compromise has a good chance of succeeding. “All the measures that we have proposed since 2020 have been retained by Bercy”, specifies a union representative of the commission to our colleagues from the Figaro. The Ministry of the Economy told the CNTR that the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) is looking into the matter. What’s more, restaurateurs are generally very favorable to maintaining a ceiling above €19. According to a Viavoice poll for Worklife in February, six in ten restaurateurs were in favor of keeping the cap at €38.
With rising inflation, the measure is also not meaningless. The increase in the price of food raw materials can also lead to an increase in bills for customers. Another reason not to go back to the old ceiling.
On weekends and public holidays, restaurant tickets are really over!
If the amount of the ceiling for restaurant tickets is still under discussion, the decision concerning their use on weekends and public holidays seems well and truly settled. As reported by Romain Vidal, restaurant owner representative at the CNTR in Figaro, “Everyone is in agreement”. For members of the CNTR, the use of restaurant tickets on weekends and public holidays “only served to deplete stocks”. For Benjamin Suchar, director of Worklife, a commission-free issuer, also questioned, “we must not mislead the purpose of the meal voucher, which is to finance the lunch break”.
Note, however, that the rules concerning days are different depending on the employee. On the legifrance.gouv site, it is simply provided that you cannot use your tickets on days off and on non-working holidays. Thus, if you work on weekends and/or public holidays, you have the right to pay with restaurant tickets for your lunch.
