Am I entitled to a free meal if I work in catering?

Every day you strive to provide your guests with good food and drink. But what about your own meal? In catering, there are rules regarding meal allowances. The meal for a chef working in catering is free based on article 34 of the CLA catering. The employer must tax this free meal from the Tax and Customs Administration, as the meal is considered a benefit in kind.

The employer must specify the provision on the payslip, as follows:

• A notional amount is added to the gross salary for the determination of income tax and then that amount is deducted again, as it is a notional amount.

The following arrangement applies to other roles:

• From 1 January 2015, employers are required to apply the work-related costs scheme from the tax authorities regarding free allowances and provisions, this also applies in catering.

Does your employer provide the meal and do you make use of these meals?
Then this should be specified by the employer on your payslip. This way, you can always check what amount has been deducted and whether this corresponds with the number of meals you have had.

More information about the work-related costs scheme can also be found on the website of the Tax and Customs Administration. 

If you were already employed by your Updates employer before 2005 and were entitled to a meal allowance at that time, this cannot simply be withdrawn. A contractual agreement made cannot be withdrawn without consultation.

The principle remains that only meals that an employee has actually consumed are charged. Check the employment contract or company regulations carefully to see if there are any agreements about meals. If the employer still charges for meals, we always advise discussing this with the employer. If a discussion has no effect, then request a written explanation.