ONCE, Veneca and VOCC are pleased to note the advice of the Advocate General in the case that Rob Baan, owner of horticultural company Koppert Cress, has brought against the tax authorities, which is now pending before the Supreme Court. The Advocate General agrees with Koppert Cress that providing healthy lunch meals falls under the targeted exemption for occupational health and safety provisions, as this provision is part of the employer's occupational health and safety policy. The Advocate General's reasoning is that the Working Conditions Act includes the obligation to implement a sickness absence prevention policy, of which a health policy can be a part, and healthy lunch meals contribute to this.
Koppert Cress provided its employees with free healthy lunches and received an additional salary tax assessment because the tax authorities considered the free lunches as disguised wages. Koppert Cress disagreed with this because the free lunches were provided as part of its occupational health and safety policy and took the matter to court. Veneca has great respect for Koppert Cress, which, after both the District Court and the Court of Appeal ruled against it, did not give up and appealed to the highest judicial authority.
Offering healthy food without being penalised fiscally
Ard van der Steur, chairman of Veneca, said, “In our view, it should be self-evident that employers can offer their people healthy food during work without being penalised fiscally for it. Employers can thus invest in vitality, job satisfaction, and employee retention. These are important pillars in reducing sickness absence within the framework of employers' occupational health and safety policy. In the tight and ageing labour market, this is of great importance for employers but also for the Netherlands as a whole. Caterers are particularly well-placed to provide healthy food and drink, and we are keen to work with employers to make this happen. We feed tens of millions of mouths annually.”
Contribute to vital employees with a free healthy lunch
If the Supreme Court follows the advice of the Advocate General, ONCE, Veneca and VOCC hope that more employers will follow Koppert Cress's good example by providing employees with free healthy lunches. An investment in sickness absence prevention that will more than pay off as a contribution to healthy and vital employees. The organisations look forward to the Supreme Court's ruling, provisionally scheduled for 17 November 2023, and wish Rob Baan and Koppert Cress every success.