An employee is entitled to a restaurant voucher if his meal is included in his working hours

By Agnes Redon | THE

Monday, June 5, 2023

| Jurisprudence of employees

An employee has the right to a meal voucher if his meal is included in his daily working hours, judges the Court of Cassation in a judgment of April 13, 2023. It matters little that the employee does not take his lunch break in such a way effective.

The context

• 1^er February 2005, an employee was hired as Urssaf controller;
• On January 2, 2014, he was authorized to perform his duties for 4.5 days;
• 1^er January 2014, he contacted the CPH to obtain the allocation of a meal voucher for each Friday worked since.

The Court of Appeal granted his request. It notes that the employee was authorized to perform his duties on a schedule of 36 hours in 4.5 days, with the choice of Friday afternoon as the half-day not worked.

It results from a company agreement that the daily working time is 8 hours.

• The duration of the half-day is 4 hours;
• The fixed working hours are distributed in the morning from 9.15 a.m. to 11.15 a.m. and in the afternoon from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.;
• The mobile slots are distributed from 7:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., from 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.;
• The meridian break must be taken on the mobile beach from 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. and be at least 30 minutes long.

No contractual provision requires the employee to perform his 4 hours of work continuously. The Court therefore rules that the employee’s working hours necessarily overlap with the lunch break, within the time slot set by the employer.

The employee is entitled to a meal voucher, regardless of whether or not he actually takes his lunch break.

The Court of Cassation censures the appeal judgment, recalling article R.3262-7 of the Labor Code, according to which the same employee can only receive one meal voucher per meal included in his daily working hours.

• It notes that the employee is free to organize his Friday morning working time within the fixed and mobile periods determined by the employer.
• His working hours necessarily overlap with the lunch break.
• According to the judgment of the Court of Cassation dated April 13, 2023, the employee is entitled to a meal voucher for Friday, even if he does not work in the afternoon.

Employer’s obligations

The restaurant voucher is an advantage granted by the employer which does not result from any legal obligation. The employer’s only obligation is to provide employees with a furnished and equipped catering room in a company with at least 50 employees.

There are 2 types of practice, provided that working hours cover mealtimes:

• Either the employee has access to a canteen-type catering room and, in this case, the company pays part of the cost of the meal;
• Either the company bears part of the meal voucher costs.