Meal allowances in 2024

Meal allowances in the construction industry have increased significantly. This article details the new amounts by region and answers your questions on the subject. It also offers a solution to simplify the management of packed lunches for your teams in the construction industry.

What is the basket premium?

The basket bonus (also called meal allowance, or packed lunch) is an allowance paid to employees. It is intended for cover meal expenses when the distance or break time does not allow them to eat at home.

This bonus is particularly used in the construction industry, where workers often work on remote construction sites.

The amounts of the basket premium in 2024

The basket premium has known an increase of 3% January 1, 2024. Depending on the region, its amount varies between €10.50 and €14.30.

Here is a summary table:

How is the amount of the meal allowance set?

The amount of the meal allowance is determined by several factors. It depends on the cost of living in the region, industry agreements and collective bargaining.

More information about shopping cart rewards

Here are a few more details to better understand this shopping cart premium.

Who can benefit from it?

The basket bonus is awarded to employees in the following situations:

• The employee cannot eat at home due to distance or lack of time.
• The employee is obliged to eat outside for professional reasons.
• He does not have access to a company restaurant.
• The employee eats at the workplace because of staggered hours or at night.

The premium is not due in the following cases:

• The employee can eat at home during the break.
• The employer reimburses the meal or provides it, whether at the restaurant or in the workplace.

How is it paid?

The amount of basket bonuses is paid each month, together with the salary.

Is the meal allowance taxable?

The packed lunch is considered to be a reimbursement of business expenses. So its amount is tax deductible within certain limits fixed each year by Urssaf :

• 7,30€ for a meal consumed at the workplace.
• €10.10 if the meal is taken outside the company and without the need to eat in a restaurant.
• 20,70€ when a meal is taken at a restaurant during a business trip.

Is it mandatory in construction?

The basket premium is mandatory in the construction sector, provided you are provided for in the employment contract and in the collective agreement of the company.

Alobees helps managers manage basket premiums

Alobees is a mobile and web application for site monitoring. It simplifies the management of basket premiums for construction managers.

In particular, the software allows to automate payroll variables (Learn more), including lunch baskets, in standard or personalized versions. Its weekly or monthly reports include:

• Working hours and overtime,
• Meal allowances,
• Displacement, depending on the targeted areas,
• Absences on construction sites.

The application makes it easy to monitor the budget by site. This allows cost control in relation to forecasts and improves visibility on the profitability of projects.

Alobees offers many other features. For example:

• Centralization of documents: From production plans to meeting minutes, everything is in one place.
• All terrain access: your data is available from the construction site, the office or even on the road.
• Trade Facilitation: sharing tools and news feeds by project (Learn more).
• Scheduling: organization of human and material resources (Learn more).
• Organization of tasks: accurate monitoring of the progress of the work (Learn more).
• Intervention management: real-time access to agendas and intervention reports (Learn more).

Alobees can make you win up to 20% of your time. The application is free for 30 days. Test it out!