Meal Allowance Amounts to Increase Again From 1 October 2023

The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family has published a new measure No. 368/2023 Coll. On the 22 September, in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic, which will come into effect on 1 October 2023.

The again increase in meal allowance amounts is due to the increase in the prices of meals and non-alcoholic beverages in restaurant catering in the Slovak Republic.

The amount of meal allowance during business trips has increased as follows:

• € 7.80 for a time duration of 5 to 12 hours,
• € 11.60 for a time duration that is longer than 12 hours capped at 18 hours,
• € 17.40 for a time duration that is longer than 18 hours.

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 October 2023

Meal voucher

According to the Labour Code, the minimum value of a meal voucher is 75% of the meal allowance for work trips lasting between 5 and 12 hours, i.e. € 5.85 with the new changes. It remains the case that an employer may decide to provide a meal voucher of a higher value than that provided for in the Labour Code.

More information on the taxation of employee meal allowances

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.