On 7 December 2022, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic published a measure in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic, which re-adjusts meal allowances received for business trips.
The amount of money covered by meal allowance has already changed twice during 2022. The rise in consumer prices has caused the amounts of business travel allowances to increase coming in effect starting 1 January 2023, as follows:
- EUR 6.80 for a time duration of 5 to 12 hours,
- EUR 10.10 for a time duration that is longer than 12 hours capped at 18 hours,
- EUR 15.30 for a time duration that is longer than 18 hours.
The obligation to increase the amounts of meal allowances and the amounts of the basic allowance is a direct consequence of Article 8 of Act No 283/2002 on travel allowances and on the basis of data from the Statistical Office based on the price index for meals and non-alcoholic beverages in restaurant catering and on the price index for items related to the operation of motor vehicles.
The increase in meal allowance amounts will also have an impact on the statutory staff meal allowance, which is provided for by the Labour Code.
Overview of staff meal allowances starting 1 January 2023
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Type of allowance
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Minimum
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Maximum
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How it impacts the emplyee
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Employer's statutory contribution to meal allowances
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EUR 2,81
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EUR 3,74
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exempt from tax and insurance contributions
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Social Fund contribution
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No limit given
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exempt from tax and insurance contributions
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Employer's contribution above the statutory contribution
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No limit given
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subject to taxes and insurance contributions
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Meal voucher
f an employer currently provides an employee with a meal voucher with a value of at least EUR 4.80 or in a range from EUR 4.80 to EUR 5.10, starting January 2023, the employer will have to provide an employee with a meal voucher with a value of at least EUR 5.10.
More information on the taxation of employee meal allowances
Electronic meal voucher
From 1 January 2023, the employer is obliged to provide employees, who are provided with paper meal vouchers, to provide them in electronic form, i.e. in the form of a payment card.
An exception will be the situation when it will not be possible for the employee to use the meal voucher in electronic form during the work shift or near the workplace.
We recommend that the above changes be incorporated into the company's internal guideline governing the conditions for providing meals to employees. Our experts will be happy to help you with the drafting of the internal guidelines.