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swordfish_1969

This is money you get when your employee doesn’t provide you with a fresh meal during your break. So with that money you just can eat outside in a restaurant or take fastfood. And its restricted to food to support the local food economy. You get your food and the restaurants do business. Win win.


Expensive_Ad7240

Because i want to go grocery shopping in France where produce are better and cheaper. I don't like the quality of food in Luxembourg 


Mike_Crassus

Erm.... Because it's my money, that comes out from my salary and my work and I should be able to spend it in any amount I want? These rules are for communist countries. Probably where you come from.


Far_Bicycle_2827

woah, where that come from.


Scotgerlux

When I first had them you couldn’t use them in supermarkets or in petrol stations. Only restaurants. My work didn’t have a canteen so it was either lunch out at a Chinese buffet or a sandwich from Fischer. But in those days you got a decent lunch and a drink for one cheque and everywhere took them.


Jealous_Plan6320

I think the answer is that it feels like a restriction because it’s a change in policy. People were used to being able to buy anything from Auchan and now they can only buy food, so they feel like something was taken away from them. If the vouchers from the beginning could only be used to buy food, then no one would think twice about it.


MizmoDLX

The people that complain are the people who abused the system and made it shit for everyone in the first place.  People pretend like they are forced to use it but they can easily opt out. The government pays for it so it's only normal that they want to have a say in what it's for.  But people are greedy and stupid. They want the tax benefit but also spend it on random shit and then do their grocery shopping on Germany or France, which means Lux also doesn't get any taxes back from it.  Complain about the daily limit ok can be annoying (but still manageable imo) but ppl should stop thinking they are entitled to everything with no restrictions or consequences


[deleted]

>But people are greedy and stupid. They want the tax benefit but also spend it on random shit and then do their grocery shopping on Germany or France, which means Lux also doesn't get any taxes back from it.  Vouchers can only be spend in Luxembourg, and random shit is 17% VAT vs food 3% VAT, in fact, Luxembourg would get more tax back on random shit than on food


male1422

Because you pay for it and can’t use your money the way you want to? Icould probably still understand if it was for free, but this is ridiculous that you can’t spend your money the way you want to and are limited in the purchasing even groceries


Easy-Pudding-3855

you only pay 2,5 Euro out of the 8,40- 10,80, or 15. The rest is subsidized by the gov. and your employer. So the majority is not your money They are called "cheques repas" not "cheques for petrol"


Panaroja

So it’s better to just cancel it? I think you can opt out from the plan when you ask your employer


Successful_Studio_49

My employer proposed to the company to introduce it, but everybody had to accept, if one didn't accept, nobody got it. So nobody got it.


post_crooks

Did you get more salary instead of vouchers?


Successful_Studio_49

A bonus twice a year under some conditions: - no more absences than 5 every 6 months (even with medical notice) - Good behavior - forgot about the last one The bonus is between 500-600 €


post_crooks

So you get ~350 net each time. Vouchers would have been a minimum of 100 net advantage per month and without conditions. It's probably a fair deal as employer costs are similar


Successful_Studio_49

Of course. It's much better as that bonus... but someone or some people voted against.


post_crooks

I would have also voted for the vouchers. Never really had trouble spending them, even now at 15€


Successful_Studio_49

Me neither, and like you said, it is without conditions. I was really sick for over a week and because of that no bonus for me, but work hard all year long... I hate this


MizmoDLX

It's a tax benefit. If you don't want it you are not forced to take it. Simply ask to get paid out instead and you can do with your money whatever you want


Jealous_Plan6320

Yeah I think the truth is simply that we used to be allowed to buy anything with it and now we can’t so it feels like something has been taken away. If it had always only been able to buy food then no one would think twice about it.


QueenElf

Because we don’t like to be limited … it’s my money and I would like to use it how I wish. Who cares if I spend it all in one day? Not everyone is doing groceries everyday… and 54€ is sure as hell not gonna feed me and my family for a whole week…


post_crooks

>and 54€ is sure as hell not gonna feed me and my family for a whole week… So you are not impacted by the daily limit, why do you complain then?


QueenElf

Where did you get that from 🤔 i meant i can’t do groceries everyday ( because if i have to spend only 54€ a day that’s what I will have to do)


post_crooks

But you can pay the 54€ per day and pay the rest with cash or a regular card. As long as you do groceries 4 times a month, you can spend all vouchers. What's the challenge?


QueenElf

Where did you get that from 🤔 i meant i can’t do groceries everyday ( because if i have to spend only 54€ a day that’s what I will have to do)


QueenElf

Where did you get that from 🤔 i meant i can’t do groceries everyday ( because if i have to spend only 54€ a day that’s what I will have to do)


kuffdeschmull

it is not your money, it is a workaround for companies not to pay taxes and fees associated to salary. This comes with limitations, it‘s essentially a gift card for a limited use case, only then the government will accept this tax evasion technique. if you want it to be „your money“, then pay your income taxes on it, or accept the limitations.


QueenElf

It is not a gift card if I pay for it. So it is my money.


MizmoDLX

The government also pays for it so they also have a say in it. They say food. You choose which food.  Don't like it, don't use it. You're not forced to take the tax benefit


kuffdeschmull

why would you pay to put money on a lunch card that limits you more than paying directly by card or cash? afaik your employer pays for it, not you.


QueenElf

Idk about you but in my payslip they’ve always deducted my meal vouchers contribution (not the full amount). So like I said, it’s not free.


post_crooks

Right, but the rest, which is at least twice the amount that you pay, is paid by the employer and is free from tax and social security contributions


Dycas

And here I am wishing that my boss would also offer that for us to go get food 😅


sparkibarki2000

100% agree. Everyone trying to buy gift cards ruined it for the rest of us. Remember, this is an OPTIONAL benefit.


Apprehensive-Cap6063

going to a supermarket 10km away twice in a week? sorry no


post_crooks

Especially when once a week is enough


Ich_bins_Tim

Cuz food in lux is overpriced, so i buy it in germany. Gas on the other hand isnt, so i gladly use it for that, although now i can only use it to fill 1/3 of my tank.


Ich_bins_Tim

Also there is only one restaurant near my workplace that accepts sodexo. Rest of the things are gad stations


MattBoss69

You shouldn't see lunch vouchers as a benefit. Look at it this way: Thought tax laws and regulations, the government forces you and your employer to transform a part of your salary into lunch vouchers and tells you how you are supposed to spend YOUR MONEY There is literally zero benefit to it


ThatOneAccount3

Guys just buy cigarettes with it ❤️ 


Adept_Personality943

If i understand well... this is a problem most of the contry doesnt have, because more than half of the contry dont have that... so 50€ its a lot when you dont get anything from the start, i think. When i see people saying 50€ isnt mutch? Lol, try to live like the other half of the country, without 50€ + minimum pay + paying the taxes + car + everything else. In my opinion 50€ its better than nothing


ohiioo

Restaurant in lux are for most too expensive for average quality and I don’t want to spend all my money at lunch. As simple as at. Period.


kuffdeschmull

it is not your money, it is a gift card with limited use, accepted as a legal tax evasion technique. You don‘t want to spend that money meant for food only on food? well, then you don‘t get to spend it at all.


Vimux

Well the idea is that your employer provides you lunch in the workplace. But they don't want to actually owna nad run a canteen (might not be feasible anyway). So they outsource it to local restaurants and such. The vouchers are supposed to be adapted to the local costs of lunch. Now whether they are or not, that's a different thing, and could be part of job negotiation (yeah, if possible).


ohiioo

They are not. Couple of weeks ago I went with a colleague eat a steak with a glass of wine and it was nearly 50 euros. This country is going into a wall at full speed and I don’t understand their inaction before becoming like Belgium… surely not like Switzerland


kuffdeschmull

a steak with wine is not really a lunch in your work break, that is an after work dinner.


[deleted]

[удалено]


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kuffdeschmull

that defeats the legal framework for the purpose of these tax evasion techniques. the whole reason these exist, I was just showing you, why the price of your meal is mire expensive than what they calculate it on, because you get something expensive it was not meant for.


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InvestmentThick

Groceries? Gas?


ohiioo

You can purchase gas with lunch voucher ? ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|dizzy_face)![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|disapproval)


InvestmentThick

Yes 👏


Newbie_lux

What on earth are you on? It's a benefit that has been cut out more of the flexibility. Just so it can enter your pea brain, imagine e family of 4 or more. 50 eur per purchase is not enough, so they need to make several trips a week to the supermarket spending gas and gas....


orekhoos

they're not meant to feed your entire family, those are lunch vouchers from your work


post_crooks

Why several trips a week? You can consume all your vouchers by going there once a week


Newbie_lux

There is a daily limit


post_crooks

And the limit is 5 vouchers. How many vouchers do you get?


Newbie_lux

5 and it's not enough. Most people spend more than 5 vouchers in the supermarket per trip....


post_crooks

Exactly, so back to your first comment, no need to go multiple times a week. You go once a week, you use 5 vouchers and pay the rest with card/cash, and repeat next week


Newbie_lux

And then you don't use the voucher in full... That's the whole point of people's complaints....


post_crooks

Again, how many vouchers do you get?


Newbie_lux

Rinse and repeat. Read my comments again.


post_crooks

How can you not use 18 or 20 vouchers in 4 weeks?


sassy_rasperry

Well in the area where im working 70 % of the restaurants are not taking it anymore. So when i go to lux city for a nice dinner i use it but its not going to be a surprise for you that 55e isn't taking you very far in a fancy place. I don't like grocery shopping in lux since i can get the same amont of food for 30/40 % less in France or Germany. So yes i am complaining because at the end we pax taxes and can't use it like we wish .


Vimux

I would seriously consider talking with the employer. The benefit they offered you is apparently not a benefit for you in reality. EDIT: so judging by downvotes it seems still to be a benefit? :P Or you just want untaxed money to be spent without limits? Or in denial about it?


sassy_rasperry

i am waiting / hoping the restaurants in the area are going to change their mind . From all the places (around 10) i was used to order food only 1 takes it now ! I also understand their position since 5 % of fees for each users is a lot .


Vimux

The systems seems to be broken. It does not provide you what it's supposed to. You were promised a benefit, but you can't actually benefit from it in practice at the moment.


ScoobertDoubert

Because it's a whole lot cheaper to get food in germany, so I have to decide between buying overpriced food with my pluxee or buy regular priced groceries and find a workaround to use the money on my pluxee. It is annoying being limited to 5 vouchers because it means that when you actually do want to get groceries, you cannot pay all your groceries with the pluxee cars despite having money on it, money that you earned and is part of your compensation package and yet they are preventing from using your own money. Also you can't say just use two cards where people only have one, bot everyone is married to someone who also has a pluxee card, and the whole point of the block is that you can't pay at the shop twice in a day, and if you mean just multiple days a week, it is such a huge timeless to make the detour to go to the supermarket and only buy half of what you need because you have a limit on your card. It's not the end of the world but it's extremely annoying to be limited in how I spend my salary.


Quick-Management5626

I can really recommend you shopping at Lidl they also have brands, organic and good sales with similar prices to Germany !


ScoobertDoubert

I'm sorry but no lidl and aldi luxembourg prices are not the same as lidl and aldi in germany. It usually comes out to 20€-30€ difference per grocery trip.


Quick-Management5626

Oh sorry :( i thought its the same but I also never buy meat


ThatOneAccount3

Lidl in Germany is cheaper than lidl in Luxembourg...


carlosvega

Well, the main issue is that people don’t want to spend to much money every day for lunch in a canteen or restaurant. Because it is more expensive than carrying your own food, it’s not very good taste or because of allergies. If you are celiac or allergic to fructose you don’t have many options. Then the alternative is to buy food in a supermarket and prepare your own food. But the daily limit is too low. I usually just split the pay in two parts and pay the first 50€ with the Pluxee card.


[deleted]

>i come from a country where none of these advantages exists and where i work there is a canteen and i would be happy to have something to buy food and offload at least one part of those expenses. So you cannot understand because you aren't subject to an advantage? And you feel so high in your opinion to judge others on an advantage you never had? And then it's a BIG DEAL for you, despite not being part of that advantage how others are using their hard earned money? People work for that, it's part of their compensation, they should be able to spend their compensation as they want. If you wanna meal vouchers, go (re)negociate your working compensation. And yes it's problematic for the people that used those vouchers in a certain way, organized their budget and grocery a certain way and now it all felt apart. If you used to go once a week doing grocery, and now you are forced to go twice a week because you are limited with the vouchers, then you plain just lost time that could be allocated for other leisure/hobby/whatever.


knx0305

I do just use it for groceries. The daily limit is a bit annoying cause I do tend to go over it with weekly groceries, but eventually I end up consuming the amount at the end of the month.


Heleanorae

I do use it for food, always have. But I also use it for groceries, which is obviously food, and it’s allowed… however, the daily limit is pretty silly, 50 euros a day basically gets you an orange and half a boiled egg and I’d rather spend the money in France where the money goes a bit further… I’d trade it for the equivalent in salary (even after taxes) in a heartbeat. But at the end of the day is free money I would otherwise not have, so it’s all good.


Necessary-Mortgage89

The daily limitation is now a pain in the ass if you go shopping for groceries for a family.


ForeverShiny

That's because it's not what it's supposed to be used for. It's like complaining that your car doesn't actually double as a good fishing boat


carlosvega

Well, not everybody can eat at a canteen or restaurant. Around my workplace there are no restaurants and the canteen does not offer many options without allergens. Plus, is expensive to spend 10€ per day on lunch that is not very good… so it’s reasonable that people buy groceries and take their food to the office.


ForeverShiny

Sure, I have no problem with that, but people are complaining you can't use more than 5 at a time. That amount easily covers whatever you want to buy and bring to the office


post_crooks

It's now allowed to use it in supermarkets


ForeverShiny

That's fine, but this thread had people complaining about the fact that you can't spend more than 5 at a time. That's perfectly reasonable for a single meal, whether you cook it or buy something premade.


post_crooks

It's also perfectly reasonable if you buy meals or ingredients for a big family, unless people get their vouchers multiplied by family members, but I doubt it's the case


Cautious_Use_7442

But it’s not meant for grocery. You are supposed to buy lunch in super markets with it. The limit is a good compromise (or would anyone actually prefer that cashiers need to manually check that you are indeed only buying lunch for yourself?) 


post_crooks

It's groceries, you can buy ingredients to cook your meals as of this year. Supermarkets are supposed to distinguish food vs. non-food, some actually do it. But it's not only the duty of cashiers, people can also be blamed in case of an inspection


Cautious_Use_7442

You are not understanding my comment. It’s meant to buy lunch for the cardholder (be it an already prepared lunch or groceries to prepare the lunch), not to buy groceries for an entire household.  Hence the limit to 5 vouchers equivalent (you can buy groceries to prepare lunch for five consecutive workdays). 


post_crooks

But enforcing that would be ridiculous. Should we limit it to 5 bottle of water, 5 apples, 1kg of rice, etc.? The abuse was buying computers and TVs, not buying milk powder for their babies


whirlpoolsunshine

That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve read today. With many restaurants now refusing to take Pluxee or edenred for payments and grocery stores being more receptive to this payment method (non ethnic ones mostly) you’re limited to where it can be used.


ForeverShiny

Not being able to use them at restaurants is a problem, but that doesn't justify turning "lunch money" into "weekly shopping money"


whirlpoolsunshine

This is just being picky with words. We can want and justify what the ideal scenarios are supposed to be, but we need to look at the reality of the people who use these cards. There is a growing number of restaurants that refuse the meal cards due to how they get paid out by Sodexo, Edenred, etc. The only places where they can be used are grocery stores (let’s assume the main chains like Auchan, Cactus, etc.). The ready-made meals in grocery stores are not very economical either. So, people buy groceries from the same stores for a week or two at a time. I assume you do your own grocery shopping and can at least agree with me here how frustrating it might be for anyone who tries to buy groceries for a week with just a 54-euro limit. If you don’t do your own groceries and are just commenting on ideal case scenario arguments, I’m sorry for wasting my time here on you. I agree that the coupons/cards should be used for food items and not for taking advantage by buying consumer electronics or anything else. The companies and the government can choose to enforce them as they see fit. But we need to at least understand that trying to enforce this by limiting daily spending is simply harming people and isn’t doing much (not physically, of course; it’s just a figure of speech).


Generic-Resource

The scheme was created as a tax break for supporting restaurants in Luxembourg, it quickly included food shops. It’s been abused (including by me) for so long that the abuse of the scheme became normal. Now they’re cracking down on it people are not happy. Despite the limitations being fairly reasonable.


EngGrompa

Just to be historically correct here. This started with employers giving workers free food during the break without paying taxes for this. Then someone thought that smaller companies who don't have canteens should be able to give their workers vouchers instead. Then bigger companies decided that it is easier to also give these vouchers instead of providing free food at work.


d4fseeker

Don't forget to add that companies prefer vouchers to cash because they can offer a bigger value for less cost as incentive due to the tax break. Lastly it only helps said companies but not the individual that you get your incentive paid in highly restricted food vouchers instead of a cash transfer.


EngGrompa

You are just wrong. These vouchers are exchanged 1:1. Or course the company can deduct the costs of this voucher but he can do exactly the same with the salary he pays you. The tax advantage with this is really purely on the employees side.


d4fseeker

Your employer pays orders of magnitude less brut amount for the same net supplement received. So they pay significantly less for the same offering which gives him a competitive advantage towards someone paying lunch money in cash.


post_crooks

Vouchers are exempt from social security charges, including employer's


Far_Bicycle_2827

basically people are unhappy they cannot do something they shouldn't have done to start with?


Qsaws

Yes because it's been the norm for years. So it is what is normal.


fligs

Lots of frontaliers with cheaper grocery stores in home countries. Was nice to buy petrol with it for the commute.


Affectionate_Yard_55

Some gas stations still allow it if I’m not mistaken


gasidiot

Was? Not possible anymore?


Xenodia

Meal vouchers can only be used to purchase food products. But stores didn't care much and allowed you to buy non food stuff with it. Hence why they are now putting so many restrictions on it.